VENEZUELA – Venezuelans once again watched as Nicolás Maduro was sworn into office on Friday, donning the executive sash and declaring himself president despite irregularities and questions around his election. He repeated his attacks against the United States and any foreign leaders who did not recognize his return to power and vowed to squash all of those who opposed him.

“I come from the people. The power I represent belongs to the people and I owe it to the people,” Maduro told allies and supporters in his inauguration speech. For many Venezuelans, there will have been a sense of déjà vu as Maduro assumed his third six-year term in office following the contested July 28 election. The country’s National Electoral Council, the body responsible for supervising and certifying the vote, which is stacked with some of his closest loyalists, had declared Maduro the winner without providing detailed evidence or data to support his victory.

But the opposition disputed the claim, releasing tens of thousands of voting tallies from around the country claiming that their candidate, Edmundo González, had actually won with 67 percent against Maduro’s 30 percent. The tallies were found to be legitimate by independent observers, such as the Carter Center and the Colombian Electoral Mission, as well as CNN’s own analysis. Several nations, including the United States, have since recognized González as Venezuela’s rightful president-elect and have issued new sanctions against Maduro and some of the country’s electoral authorities.

Fellow opposition leader Maria Corina Machado accused Maduro of a coup d’état in a video posted to social media after he was sworn in for the third time. She said that with his inauguration “they decided to cross the red line” and “they stomp on our constitution.” “Today, Maduro did not put the presidential band on his chest, he put it on his ankle like a shackle that would tighten more every day,” she added. (CNN)