CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Nicolas Maduro celebrated the start to a second term as Venezuela's leader Thursday, but his world got smaller as countries seized upon the inauguration to cut back diplomatic ties, reject his legitimacy and label him a dictator.

Once among Latin America's wealthiest countries, Venezuela is enduring a historic crisis following two decades of socialist rule, with residents struggling to afford basic goods as inflation soars, driving mass migration.

Maduro's second six-year term extends the country's socialist revolution amid widespread complaints that he has stripped the country of its last vestiges of democracy.

Seventeen Latin American countries, the United States and Canada denounced Maduro's government as illegitimate in a measure adopted Thursday.

Maduro rejected the accusation, vowing to continue the legacy of the late President Hugo Chavez and accused the United States of trying to ignite unrest through its increasing economic sanctions.

"Venezuela is the center of a world war led by the North American imperialists and its allies," he declared in a speech after his swearing-in. "They have tried to convert a normal inauguration into a world war."

Maduro, a 56-year-old former bus driver and Chavez's hand-picked successor, took the helm of government after narrowly winning election following Chavez's 2013 death. He denies being a dictator and often accuses President Donald Trump of leading an economic war against Venezuela that is destroying the country.

In May, Maduro declared victory following an election that his political opponents and many foreign nations consider illegitimate because popular opponents were banned from running and the largest anti-government parties boycotted the race.

On Thursday, the Organization of American States voted not to recognize the legitimacy of Maduro's second term, adopting a resolution presented by Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, the United States, Paraguay and Peru. Venezuela's ambassador to the OAS, Samuel Moncada, denounced the move as "a hostile act ... against the will of our nation."

Paraguay went a step further, severing diplomatic ties. Peru also called home its top diplomat from Caracas in protest and banned 100 members of Maduro's administration from entering the country. Argentina suspended Venezuelan diplomatic and official passports for banned high-ranking members of Maduro's administration from entering.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement that the United States would keep up pressure in support of the Venezuelan people.

"It is time for Venezuelan leaders to make a choice," Pompeo said. "Now is the time to convince the Maduro dictatorship that the moment has arrived for democracy to return to Venezuela."

Argentine President Mauricio Macri also denounced Maduro, saying he lacks the authenticity won through honest elections despite the elaborate inauguration ceremony.

"Nicolas Maduro today is making a mockery of democracy," Macri said on Twitter. "Venezuelans know it, the world knows it. Venezuela lives under a dictatorship."

Most countries from Europe and Latin American didn't send representatives to the swearing-in.

Presidents Miguel Diaz-Canel of Cuba, Evo Morales of Bolivia and Anatoli Bibilov of a breakaway province of Georgia were among the few foreign leaders who attended the ceremony at the country's Supreme Court.

Venezuela, which sits atop the world's largest oil reserves, produced 3.5 million barrels of crude daily when Chavez took power. Output has plummeted to less than a third of that. Critics blame years of rampant corruption and mismanagement of the state-run oil company PDVSA.

The economic collapse has thrown the nation of 30 million people into turmoil.

The economy in 2019 will continue to contract and inflation will skyrocket at a staggering 23 million percent, forecasts Francisco Rodriguez, a former Venezuelan official who is now chief economist at New York-based Torino Capital.

An estimated 2.3 million Venezuelans have fled, according to the United Nations. Those remaining live on a monthly minimum wage equal to less than $5 and falling daily.

Venezuela's splintered opposition movement has failed to counter the socialist party's dominance as Maduro's government has jailed or driven into exile its most popular leaders.

The opposition-led Congress opened its session for the year, led by 35-year-old Juan Guaido, who accused Maduro of "usurping the presidency."

"Today there is no head of state. Today there is no commander-in-chief," Guaido said.

The Trump administration has increased pressure on Maduro through financial sanctions, targeting dozens in Maduro's government. U.S. banks are also banned from doing business with Venezuela, putting a financial strangle-hold on the cash-strapped country.

David Smilde, a Tulane University professor and expert on Venezuela, said that sanctions aren't likely to create change. Ultimately, Maduro's government isn't worried about its international reputation, he said.

"He still has control of the institutions," Smilde said. "He has the guns. He has the money."

While Maduro's popularity has plunged amid scarcities, hyperinflation and rising authoritarianism that have sparked a mass emigration, supporters who receive government subsidies in shantytowns continue to back him.

"It's not the president's fault," said Frances Velazquez, a 43-year-old mother of two who survives with the help of government-subsidized boxes of rice, flour and cooking oil. Velazquez blamed opportunists who drive up the prices of scarce items for making life difficult for families like hers.

Others, like 52-year-old construction worker Ramon Bermudez, have lost hope of escaping Maduro's rule.

He pointed out the irony of living in a nation with the world's most abundant oil reserves yet having to wait in line overnight to fill three small canisters of natural gas to cook at home.

"All that's left to do is raise your hand to heaven and ask God to help us," said Bermudez, camped out on a Caracas sidewalk with hundreds of others waiting for gas. "There's nothing more."

Associated Press writers Luis Alonso Lugo in Washington and Fabiola Sanchez and Jorge Rueda in Caracas contributed to this report.</s>related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery.

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Venezuela's defence minister told socialist President Nicolas Maduro to step down last month, and said he would offer his own resignation if he did not, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing an anonymous U.S. intelligence official.

REUTERS: Venezuela's defence minister told socialist President Nicolas Maduro to step down last month, and said he would offer his own resignation if he did not, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing an anonymous U.S. intelligence official.

Both Maduro and Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez are still in office. Maduro is set to be sworn in for a second six-year term on Thursday, though several countries in the region have warned him not to take office, calling his May 2018 re-election vote a sham.

Discontent within the military's ranks has grown as Venezuela's economic collapse has deepened, prompting millions to migrate. Security forces tortured dozens of military personnel accused of subversion last year, according to human rights groups, and detentions for desertion have increased.

A U.S. government source told Reuters the government believes reports that Padrino threatened to resign if Maduro did not depart are credible.

"Nobody (in the U.S. government) would be surprised if (Padrino) stepped back," the source added.

Venezuela's Information Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.</s>WASHINGTON – The United States on Thursday refused to recognise Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's legitimacy as he started a controversial new term and urged rank-and-file government employees to empower the opposition.

"The US will not recognise the Maduro dictatorship's illegitimate inauguration," national security advisor John Bolton tweeted.

"We will continue to increase pressure on the corrupt regime, support the democratic National Assembly, and call for democracy and freedom in Venezuela," he wrote.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on Venezuelans to work not with Maduro but with the National Assembly, which is controlled by the opposition but has been sidelined by a new Constituent Assembly created by Maduro's government.

"We urge those who support this regime, from every day employees getting by on food subsidies to the Venezuelan security forces sworn to support the constitution, to stop enabling repression and corruption and to work with the National Assembly and its duly elected leader, Juan Guaido, in accordance with your constitution on a peaceful return to democracy," Pompeo said in a statement.

"The Venezuelan people and the international community will remember and judge your actions. Now is the time to convince the Maduro dictatorship that the moment has arrived for democracy to return to Venezuela," he said.

"The Secretary reinforced the US commitment to the National Assembly, the only legitimate and last democratically elected institution in Venezuela, and the re-establishment of democracy in Venezuela," spokesperson Robert Palladino added.

Maduro was sworn in for a second six-year term under a cloud of skyrocketing inflation, shortages of basic food and medicine and an exodus of Venezuelans to neighbouring countries, following an election that was boycotted by the opposition.

The Lima Group - a bloc of 14 Latin American powers and Canada - urged Maduro to renounce his term and hand over power to parliament, although Mexico's new leftist government stayed neutral.

The European Union has also said that last year's election was marred by fraud and has extended sanctions.

The United States has for years put pressure on Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chavez, with President Donald Trump publicly musing about military intervention.

On Tuesday, the United States imposed its latest sanctions as it targeted seven Venezuelans allegedly involved in black-market currency exchanges that generated billions of dollars in illicit profits.</s>CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro started a second term on Thursday, defying critics in the United States and Latin America who called him an illegitimate usurper of a nation where economic chaos has wrought a humanitarian crisis.

The country’s pro-government Supreme Court, which has largely supplanted the opposition-run Congress, swore him in following a welcome with a symphony orchestra and cheering supporters waving miniature Venezuelan flags.

The ceremony contrasted with the harsh realities that face the former bus driver turned socialist leader, including hyperinflation, severe food and medicine shortages and an exodus of millions of citizens seeking to escape the hardship.

Before he had even completed his inaugural speech, the United States accused him of “usurping power,” and Paraguay announced it was cutting diplomatic ties - a symbol of the growing diplomatic isolation that he will face in the new term.

“A new world has risen up that refuses to be controlled by the imperial and hegemonic orders of a single nation or its satellite countries,” Maduro said following his swearing-in.

“That’s the rallying cry of our revolution to the peoples and governments of the world.”

Supreme Court Chief Maikel Moreno dedicated nearly 20 minutes to explaining why Maduro was not being sworn in by congress, which the ruling Socialist Party has systematically ignored since the opposition took control of the body in 2016.

Opposition leaders have portrayed the inauguration as the moment at which Maduro will be internationally branded a dictator following a widely boycotted 2018 election that many foreign governments described as a farce.

But continued support from the military, a fractured opposition and a relentless crackdown on opposition critics means that Maduro appears to face few serious challenges at home, despite the international outcry.

Maduro’s first agenda item for his second term is a ceremony at Venezuela’s military academy, a telling symbol of the importance of armed forces.

Supporters, many of whom were public servants identified by t-shirts of state agencies, rallied in the center of Caracas to celebrate the new term. Some said Maduro should do more to crack down on business leaders for raising prices.

“Sometimes its hard to find food because businesses hide it and then say its the president’s fault, even though we all know that’s a lie,” said Graciela Laya, 43, a homemaker, at a rally near the Supreme Court.

He won re-election last year despite hyperinflation, chronic food shortages and a severe economic contraction. He blames an “economic war” led by the United States and local opposition adversaries for the country’s woes.

The vast majority of the opposition boycotted last year’s vote on the grounds that it was rigged in favor of Maduro, noting a host of irregularities including Socialist Party tents in which activists offered monetary payments to voters.

The United States and many Latin American and European countries condemned the vote, leaving Maduro backed by just a handful of stalwart allies from leftist governments.

“It is time for Venezuela to begin a transitional process that can restore the constitutional, democratic order by holding free and fair elections that respect the will of the Venezuelan people,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote in statement.

Paraguay’s President Mario Abdo said his country was shutting its embassy and pulling out all diplomatic personnel due to what it called a “rupture of constitutional order” caused by the inauguration.

Most other countries plan to maintain their embassies and diplomatic relations with Venezuela, according to sources consulted by Reuters, but most European and Latin American countries did not send diplomats to the inauguration.

Opposition activists have called for protests on Thursday. Authorities have responded by filling streets with police checkpoints and rifle-toting troops.

“This inauguration is illegal,” said Jose Navarro, 17, a student at a small anti-government protest in the restive western city of San Cristobal. “And this military deployment is also an offense to the constitution.”</s>CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday warned he could take “diplomatic measures” against Latin American nations that signed a statement last week describing his second term, which starts on Thursday, as illegitimate.

Members of the so-called Group of Lima, which includes Brazil, Argentina and Colombia, said Maduro’s new term would be illegitimate because the 2018 election that gave him a second term was not free or fair and that they would not recognize his leadership.

Venezuela “has alerted very clearly to the governments of the Cartel of Lima that, if they do not rectify their position (...) we will take the most crude and energetic measures that can be taken in diplomacy,” Maduro, using a pejorative name for the group widely used by ruling Socialist Party leaders.

He did not provide details what measures he could take.

Maduro called Peru’s government “ridiculous” for announcing that it plans to prohibit Maduro and other high-ranking Venezuelan officials from entering its territory.

The May 2018 election was widely boycotted by the opposition, which described it as a farce that was rigged in his favor. Governments around the world also described it as illegitimate.

Maduro insists the election was fair and that the opposition did not participate because it knew it would lose. He accuses foreign governments including Latin American nations of seeking to overthrow him.</s>CARACAS, Venezuela — The head of Venezuela’s opposition-run congress said Friday that he’s prepared to step into the nation’s presidency temporarily to replace Nicolas Maduro, whose inauguration has been rejected as illegitimate by most countries in the hemisphere.

National Assembly President Juan Guaido made the statement to an energized crowd blocking a busy Caracas street a day after Maduro’s inauguration to a second term.

“Guaido for president!” the crowd chanted. “Out with Maduro!”

But Guaido said he’d need support from the public, the armed forces and the international community before trying to form a transitional government to hold new elections to replace Maduro.

“The constitution gives me the legitimacy to carry out the charge of the presidency over the country to call elections,” Guaido said. “But I need backing from the citizens to make it a reality.”

Guaido asked Venezuelans to mass in a nationwide demonstration on Jan. 23, a historically important date for Venezuelans — the day when a mass uprising overthrew dictator Marcos Perez Jimenez in 1958.

The constitution assigns the presidency to the head of the National Assembly if Maduro is illegitimate.

But the overall military so far has remained firmly behind Maduro, despite some reports of small-scale attempts at revolt.

A once wealthy oil nation, Venezuela is gripped by growing crisis of relentless inflation, food shortages and mass migration.

The announcement is a daring challenge to the socialist leader, who has rejected criticism of his re-election and whose government has imprisoned many leading critics.

Maduro accuses the United States and local foes of plotting a coup.

Seventeen Latin American countries, the United States and Canada denounced Maduro’s government as illegitimate in a measure adopted Thursday at the Organization of American States in Washington.

In May, Maduro declared victory following an election that his political opponents and many foreign nations consider illegitimate, in part because popular opponents were banned from running and the largest anti-government parties boycotted the race.

Friday’s demonstration was the largest showing of anti-government supporters in more than a year, but fell far short of the thousands that took to the streets over four months in 2017, leading to clashes in which more than 120 died.

Guaido, 35, made the announcement less than a week after being selected to lead Venezuela’s National Assembly, vowing to press for transition of power.

Guaido has won some international support, speaking by phone this week with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

“We are not victims here. We are survivors and we are going to survive this,” Guaido said. We are here to talk about the route, because there are no magical solutions.”</s>CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Nicolas Maduro celebrated the start to a second term as Venezuela's leader Thursday, but his world got smaller as countries seized upon the inauguration to cut back diplomatic ties, reject his legitimacy and label him a dictator.

Once among Latin America's wealthiest countries, Venezuela is enduring a historic crisis following two decades of socialist rule, with residents struggling to afford basic goods as inflation soars, driving mass migration.

Maduro's second six-year term extends the country's socialist revolution amid widespread complaints that he has stripped the country of its last vestiges of democracy.

Seventeen Latin American countries, the United States and Canada denounced Maduro's government as illegitimate in a measure adopted Thursday.

Maduro rejected the accusation, vowing to continue the legacy of the late President Hugo Chavez and accused the United States of trying to ignite unrest through its increasing economic sanctions.

"Venezuela is the center of a world war led by the North American imperialists and its allies," he declared in a speech after his swearing-in. "They have tried to convert a normal inauguration into a world war."

Maduro, a 56-year-old former bus driver and Chavez's hand-picked successor, took the helm of government after narrowly winning election following Chavez's 2013 death. He denies being a dictator and often accuses President Donald Trump of leading an economic war against Venezuela that is destroying the country.

In May, Maduro declared victory following an election that his political opponents and many foreign nations consider illegitimate because popular opponents were banned from running and the largest anti-government parties boycotted the race.

On Thursday, the Organization of American States voted not to recognize the legitimacy of Maduro's second term, adopting a resolution presented by Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, the United States, Paraguay and Peru. Venezuela's ambassador to the OAS, Samuel Moncada, denounced the move as "a hostile act ... against the will of our nation."

Paraguay went a step further, severing diplomatic ties. Peru also called home its top diplomat from Caracas in protest and banned 100 members of Maduro's administration from entering the country. Argentina suspended Venezuelan diplomatic and official passports for banned high-ranking members of Maduro's administration from entering.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement that the United States would keep up pressure in support of the Venezuelan people.

"It is time for Venezuelan leaders to make a choice," Pompeo said. "Now is the time to convince the Maduro dictatorship that the moment has arrived for democracy to return to Venezuela."

Argentine President Mauricio Macri also denounced Maduro, saying he lacks the authenticity won through honest elections despite the elaborate inauguration ceremony.

"Nicolas Maduro today is making a mockery of democracy," Macri said on Twitter. "Venezuelans know it, the world knows it. Venezuela lives under a dictatorship."

Most countries from Europe and Latin American didn't send representatives to the swearing-in.

Presidents Miguel Diaz-Canel of Cuba, Evo Morales of Bolivia and Anatoli Bibilov of a breakaway province of Georgia were among the few foreign leaders who attended the ceremony at the country's Supreme Court.

Venezuela, which sits atop the world's largest oil reserves, produced 3.5 million barrels of crude daily when Chavez took power. Output has plummeted to less than a third of that. Critics blame years of rampant corruption and mismanagement of the state-run oil company PDVSA.

The economic collapse has thrown the nation of 30 million people into turmoil.

The economy in 2019 will continue to contract and inflation will skyrocket at a staggering 23 million percent, forecasts Francisco Rodriguez, a former Venezuelan official who is now chief economist at New York-based Torino Capital.

An estimated 2.3 million Venezuelans have fled, according to the United Nations. Those remaining live on a monthly minimum wage equal to less than $5 and falling daily.

Venezuela's splintered opposition movement has failed to counter the socialist party's dominance as Maduro's government has jailed or driven into exile its most popular leaders.

The opposition-led Congress opened its session for the year, led by 35-year-old Juan Guaido, who accused Maduro of "usurping the presidency."

"Today there is no head of state. Today there is no commander-in-chief," Guaido said.

The Trump administration has increased pressure on Maduro through financial sanctions, targeting dozens in Maduro's government. U.S. banks are also banned from doing business with Venezuela, putting a financial strangle-hold on the cash-strapped country.

David Smilde, a Tulane University professor and expert on Venezuela, said that sanctions aren't likely to create change. Ultimately, Maduro's government isn't worried about its international reputation, he said.

"He still has control of the institutions," Smilde said. "He has the guns. He has the money."

While Maduro's popularity has plunged amid scarcities, hyperinflation and rising authoritarianism that have sparked a mass emigration, supporters who receive government subsidies in shantytowns continue to back him.

"It's not the president's fault," said Frances Velazquez, a 43-year-old mother of two who survives with the help of government-subsidized boxes of rice, flour and cooking oil. Velazquez blamed opportunists who drive up the prices of scarce items for making life difficult for families like hers.

Others, like 52-year-old construction worker Ramon Bermudez, have lost hope of escaping Maduro's rule.

He pointed out the irony of living in a nation with the world's most abundant oil reserves yet having to wait in line overnight to fill three small canisters of natural gas to cook at home.

"All that's left to do is raise your hand to heaven and ask God to help us," said Bermudez, camped out on a Caracas sidewalk with hundreds of others waiting for gas. "There's nothing more."

Associated Press writers Luis Alonso Lugo in Washington and Fabiola Sanchez and Jorge Rueda in Caracas contributed to this report.</s>CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The head of Venezuela's opposition-run congress said Friday that he's prepared to step into the nation's presidency temporarily to replace Nicolas Maduro, whose inauguration has been rejected as illegitimate by most countries in the hemisphere.

National Assembly President Juan Guaido made the statement to an energized crowd blocking a busy Caracas street a day after Maduro's inauguration to a second term.

"Guaido for president!" the crowd chanted. "Out with Maduro!"

But Guaido said he'd need support from the public, the armed forces and the international community before trying to form a transitional government to hold new elections to replace Maduro.

"The constitution gives me the legitimacy to carry out the charge of the presidency over the country to call elections," Guaido said. "But I need backing from the citizens to make it a reality."

The head of the Organization of American States, Secretary-General Luis Almagro, wasn't waiting. He sent out a tweet recognizing Guaido as Venezuela's interim president. "You have our support," Almagro said in a tweet.

Guaido asked Venezuelans to mass in a nationwide demonstration on Jan. 23, a historically important date for Venezuelans — the day when a mass uprising overthrew dictator Marcos Perez Jimenez in 1958.

The constitution assigns the presidency to the head of the National Assembly if Maduro is illegitimate.

But the overall military so far has remained firmly behind Maduro, despite some reports of small-scale attempts at revolt.

A once wealthy oil nation, Venezuela is gripped by growing crisis of relentless inflation, food shortages and mass migration.

The announcement is a daring challenge to the socialist leader, who has rejected criticism of his re-election and whose government has imprisoned many leading critics.

Maduro accuses the United States and local foes of plotting a coup.

Seventeen Latin American countries, the United States and Canada denounced Maduro's government as illegitimate in a measure adopted Thursday at the Organization of American States in Washington.

In May, Maduro declared victory following an election that his political opponents and many foreign nations consider illegitimate, in part because popular opponents were banned from running and the largest anti-government parties boycotted the race.

Friday's demonstration was the largest showing of anti-government supporters in more than a year, but fell far short of the thousands that took to the streets over four months in 2017, leading to clashes in which more than 120 died.

Guaido, 35, made the announcement less than a week after being selected to lead Venezuela's National Assembly, vowing to press for transition of power.

Guaido has won some international support, speaking by phone this week with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

"We are not victims here. We are survivors and we are going to survive this," Guaido said. We are here to talk about the route, because there are no magical solutions."</s>Venezuela's sidelined opposition-controlled parliament called Friday for a mass protest against President Nicolas Maduro in a bid to oust the socialist leader in favor of "a transitional government."

Maduro, 56, was sworn in for a second term on Thursday, having won a highly controversial election in May that was boycotted by the opposition and branded a fraud by the United States, European Union and Organization of American States.

The National Assembly's president Juan Guiado said the constitution gives parliament the right to assume transitional power after declaring Maduro a "usurper," but said it would need military backing and for people to take to the streets to demand change.

"Is it enough to lean on the constitution in a dictatorship? No. It needs to be the people, the military and the international community that lead us to take over," said Guiado, speaking to around a thousand opposition supporters in Caracas.

Parliament pointedly announced the significant date of January 23 for its mass protest as this was the day in 1958 in which the military dictatorship of Marcos Perez Jimenez fell.

The National Assembly, like many foreign countries, has dismissed Maduro's election as illegitimate but parliament has been sidelined by the president's power grab.

Having lost control of parliament in 2016, Maduro last year created a rival Constituent Assembly filled with loyalists while his allies at the Supreme Court stripped parliament of its powers.

Maduro's swearing in ceremony was even held at the Supreme Court rather than parliament.

The hand-picked successor to late strongman Hugo Chaves also has the backing of the military high command, which reiterated its "loyalty" to the president on both Wednesday and Thursday.</s>LIMA (Reuters) - Peru has recalled its charge d’affaires from its embassy in Venezuela to protest what it called the “illegitimate” new term of President Nicolas Maduro, Peru’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

Peru will also bar Maduro and 100 people linked to him or his government from entry, the ministry added.

Maduro started a second term on Thursday, defying critics who called him an illegitimate usurper of a nation where economic chaos has wrought a humanitarian crisis.
Several Latin American countries close their embassies in Venezuela in protest of Maduro's "illegitimate" election.