President-elect Donald Trump says Venezuela's embattled opposition leader must be protected as President Nicolas Maduro takes the oath of office for a third six-year term.

Machado was released after a brief detention while leaving a protest in Caracas Thursday on the eve of President Nicolas Maduro’s inauguration.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said she is now safe after her aides said she was “intercepted” at a protest in Caracas on the eve of President Nicolas Maduro’s inauguration.