Venezuela’s authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro was sworn in for a third, six-year term with all the pomp and circumstance of an inauguration, a sash with the colors of the country’s flag around his chest.

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

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was sworn in for a third six-year term after a reelection widely viewed as illegitimate and as his administration grows increasingly brazen in cracking down on its opponents.