It is not viable for Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez to enter the country, his ally Maria Corina Machado said on Friday, shortly after President Nicolas Maduro was sworn in for a third term despite months of controversy over the country's contested July election.

Maria Corina Machado was arrested following an opposition rally against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on Thursday but has been released.

Machado’s appearance at the rally was her first public appearance in months, since a government crackdown on Venezeulan opposition figures and their supporters last year.