Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose nearly 12 years in office have been marked by a deep economic and social crisis, is set to be sworn in for a third term on Friday, staying in power despite a six-month dispute over a July election and international calls for him to stand aside.

Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado's aides said she was detained Thursday, followed moments later by official denials of her arrest, in a confusing episode that capped a day of protests seeking to block President Nicolás Maduro from clinging to power.

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