Venezuelan opposition parties and their supporters are set to hold protests around the country on Thursday in an eleventh-hour effort to put pressure on President Nicolas Maduro, one day before he is due to be sworn in for his third six-year term.

If you need one word to describe Venezuela these days, it would be fearful.” That’s what one Latin American diplomat told CNN this week, reflecting on the strange atmosphere in the country.

Venezuela's "colectivos," groups of armed civilian volunteers accused of committing violence on behalf of Nicolas Maduro's pariah regime, are poised to pounce on opposition protests called for the eve of the president's swearing-in ceremony.