CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was sworn in Friday to serve a third six-year term, extending his increasingly repressive rule until 2031 despite protests and credible evidence that his opponent won the election.

Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro has been sworn in for a third presidential term in what the country’s opposition movement has decried as “coup d’etat”, capping more than five months of dispute over last summer’s contested election.

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