President Nicolás Maduro will extend his increasingly repressive rule over Venezuela until 2031 when he is sworn in on Friday, despite credible evidence that his opponent won the latest election and following protests against his plan to serve a third six-year term.

Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was detained at a march in Caracas on Thursday in her first public appearance in months and her ally, former presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, demanded she be freed immediately.

Security forces fired on her convoy and detained Machado after she came out of hiding in a bid to block the president from clinging to power.