The inauguration of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has left his opponents grappling with conflicting feelings of hope and disappointment, pondering why the leftist leader could not be stopped despite credible evidence that he had lost the election last year.

Venezuela’s exiled opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia has urged the Venezuelan military to recognize him as their commander-in-chief and “put an end to the leadership” of President Nicolás Maduro,

Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro began a third term as president on Friday, cementing his increasingly authoritarian rule.