By Vivian Sequera and Mircely Guanipa CARACAS/MARACAY (Reuters) -Venezuelan opposition parties and their supporters were holding protests around the country on Thursday in an eleventh-hour effort to put pressure on President Nicolas Maduro,

Opponents of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro took to the streets Thursday in a last-ditch protest against his swearing-in for a third six-year term as president. Attempts by Trump to force Maduro out during his first term as US president by recognizing a parallel opposition-led government and imposing sanctions on Venezuela's oil sector came to naught however.

Edmundo González gains Panama's backing for his victory claim in Venezuela against Nicolas Maduro in July's presidential election.

Venezuelan opposition parties and NGOs decried the arrests of a prominent press freedom activist and a well-known opposition figure, among others, ahead of planned protests against Friday's inauguration of President Nicolas Maduro for his third term.

Self-exiled Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González is rallying regional support for the opposition’s claims that he won the July election against President Nicolás Maduro

Venezuela is on tenterhooks as it braces for pro- and anti-government protests Thursday -- the eve of President Nicolas Maduro's swearing-in for a third term rejected by the opposition and much of the international community as illegitimate.