President-elect Donald Trump urged Venezuela not to harm opposition leader María Corina Machado after she was briefly arrested on Thursday, in his first public comments on the country’s disputed election.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro will be 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.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, whose nearly 12 years in office have been marked by a deep economic and social crisis, was sworn in for his third term on Friday, remaining in power despite a six-month-long dispute over a contested July election and international calls for him to stand aside.