The brief arrest of Maria Corina Machado provoked swift condemnations from political leaders across the globe.

Machado was arrested by government security forces Thursday as she left a rally in Caracas on the eve of Maduro's inauguration after a widely discredited election.

His subdued tone and poker face, forged as a diplomat, go against the usual image in Venezuela of boisterous politicians. Maduro and his allies have taken his demeanor as a sign of weakness and chastised him on national TV.