Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, in office since 2013, is due to take the oath of office for a third term Friday despite a global outcry that brought thousands out in protest on the ceremony's eve.

President Nicolás Maduro will extend his increasingly repressive rule over Venezuela until 2031 when he is sworn in on Friday, despite credible evidence that his opponent won the latest election and following protests against his plan to serve a third six-year term.

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,