Venezuela’s opposition supporters grapple with hope and disappointment after Maduro is sworn in

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - The inauguration of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro left his opponents to grapple with with conflicting feelings of hope and disappointment on Saturday, pondering why the self-described socialist leader could not be stopped despite credible evidence that he had lost the election last year.

Some described their mood after Friday’s ceremony at the legislative palace in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, like an emotional hangover while others said they feel abandoned.

Many expressed cautious optimism, finding a measure of comfort in the social media videos released by two opposition leaders - popular former lawmaker María Corina Machado and Edmundo González, the opposition’s candidate in the vote - who had promised to topple Maduro.

"In the end, it feels as if the soup got cold," college professor Nelson Perez said. "We've been on the subject of not losing hope for a while. … But then you realize it's more of the same."

That realization is hard to process for millions of Venezuelans who, like Perez, had imagined a different Jan. 10 - one with González receiving the presidential sash and Machado giving one of her signature fiery speeches before the National Assembly.

Instead, González and Machado sent messages on social media while Maduro placed his hand on Venezuela's constitution and took the oath of office, defying overwhelming evidence contradicting his victory claim in the July presidential election.

Maduro compared himself to a biblical David fighting Goliath and accused his opponents and their supporters in the United States of trying to turn his inauguration into a "world war." He said his enemies' failure to block his inauguration to a third six-year term was "a great victory" for Venezuela's peace and national sovereignty.

"I have not been made president by the government of the United States, nor by the pro-imperialist governments of Latin America," he said after being draped with a sash in the red, yellow and blue of Venezuela's flag. "I come from the people, I am of the people, and my power emanates from history and from the people.”

Venezuela's National Electoral Council, stacked with government loyalists, had declared Maduro the winner of the July 28 election. But unlike in previous contests, electoral authorities did not provide detailed vote counts to back the announced result.

The opposition, however, collected tally sheets from 85% of electronic voting machines and posted them online - showing its candidate, González, had won by a more than a two-to-one margin. U.N. experts and the U.S.-based Carter Center, both invited by Maduro's government to observe the election, said the tally sheets published by the opposition are legitimate.

Machado, in a message on social media Friday, said Maduro was guilty of a coup by not leaving office by Jan. 10, when by law, Venezuela's presidential term begins. She also said she was confident that the country's "freedom is near" but stopped short of saying anything about future steps the opposition could take to end Maduro's presidency.

"Today, Maduro didn't put the sash on his chest. He put a shackle on his ankle, which will tighten every day," she said.

A day earlier, Machado - who was banned from running for office but remains the driving force behind Venezuela's beleaguered opposition - had emerged from months of hiding to join an anti-Maduro protest in Caracas. She said security forces had briefly detained her after leaving the rally, an allegation the government promptly denied.

Thursday's rally drew far smaller crowds than the massive demonstrations Machado and González had led during the election campaign, primarily because of fears over the government’s brutal crackdown on dissent. More than 2,000 people were arrested during and after the civil unrest that followed the election.

"You see people, and they look like they have a hangover," bricklayer Luis Carlos Moreno, 55, said of the mood among those who had stayed away from the inauguration ceremony. "We have to wait until next week to see how things go and if ... everyone goes to work and the kids go to school."

In contrast, Maduro's supporters near the legislative palace were jubilant, some unable to hold back tears of joy.

State TV said 10 heads of state attended the ceremony. But far more governments around the world have rejected Maduro’s victory claims, pointing to credible evidence validated by election observers.

Underscoring Maduro's growing isolation, the U.S., Canada, Britain and the European Union announced new sanctions Friday on more than 20 Venezuelan officials, accusing them of gutting the country’s democracy. Those sanctioned included Supreme Court justices, electoral authorities, the head of Venezuela's state oil company and Cabinet ministers.

Meanwhile, González, who left for Spain in September to avoid arrest, was in the Dominican Republic, which was supposed to the last stop on his tour of the Americas before attempting to return to Venezuela to be sworn in. In his video message, he told supporters that Maduro's government will end "soon, very soon" and reiterated his promise to return to Venezuela.

"I am ready for safe entry at the right time," he said.

Those struggling with the idea of Maduro’s rule for six more years included poll workers - many of them were harassed or arrested following the election.

"I’m very disappointed," said Caracas resident and poll worker Marlyn Ruiz. "Reality is not as we were led to believe."