If you need one word to describe Venezuela these days, it would be fearful.” That’s what one Latin American diplomat told CNN this week, reflecting on the strange atmosphere in the country.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro delivers a speech during a meeting of leaders of the member states of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America and the Treaty of Commerce and Promotion (ALBA-TCP),

Venezuelan politician Diosdado Cabello mocked reports of the arrest of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado at a rally Thursday ahead of the Presidential inauguration.

Rival groups gathered in Venezuela’s capital Caracas on the eve of President Nicolas Maduro’s inauguration for a third term on Friday, with opposition leader Maria Corina Machado making a rare public appearance.

Venezuela’s opposition leader María Corina Machado defies Maduro to lead protests that ended with her brief arrest.View on euronews

CARACAS. Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González, who claims to have defeated President Nicolás Maduro in last year’s presidential election, said his son-in-law was kidnapped Tuesday in the capital, Caracas.