Tension mounted in Venezuela Monday ahead of strongman Nicolas Maduro's swearing-in ceremony, with Caracas vowing to arrest exiled opposition figure Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia if he returns to the country.

Venezuela’s government has doubled down on its intention to arrest the opposition leader who claims to have defeated President Nicolás Maduro in last year’s election.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has urged supporters to demonstrate across the country, telling them in a video message that President Nicolás Maduro will not step down on his own and they “must make him leave.

Venezuela's government is intensifying efforts to apprehend opposition leader Edmundo González, who claims to have defeated President Nicolás Maduro in last year's contentious election. On Sunday, National Assembly leader Jorge Rodriguez declared the immediate arrest of González if he sets foot in the country.