Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido was sworn in for another term as speaker of parliament on Tuesday after a tense stand-off with the armed forces who initially prevented him from entering Congress.
Mr Guaido leads the opposition to President Nicolas Maduro, who is blamed for an acute economic crisis and accused of acting like a harsh leftist dictator, and he is recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela's legitimate acting president.
The National Assembly is the only Venezuelan branch of government in opposition hands.
While Mr Guaido was barred from entering the building by the National Guard for around half an hour in dramatic and chaotic scenes, his rival claimant to the speaker position, Luis Parra, occupied the chair.
By the time Mr Guaido was allowed in, alongside allied deputies, Mr Parra had already left.
"Here we are, showing our face," Mr Guaido said as he took his seat.
Lawmakers sang the national anthem but electricity to the chamber was cut off, leaving deputies to use the flashlights on their mobile phones to provide light.
Mr Guaido then raised his right hand and took the oath of office for another term as leader of the assembly.
Earlier, dozens of National Guard troops wearing helmets and carrying riot shields blocked Mr Guaido from entering the building.
"These are not barracks!" Mr Guaido shouted at troops, who had set up a check-point at the building's entrance before the opposition leader arrived.
Some of his allies and members of the press were also blocked from getting inside.
The opposition said on Twitter that four lawmakers were injured by "regime minions."
The press workers' union wrote on Twitter that two journalists were attacked and robbed of their equipment by armed militias linked to the government.
Inside, Mr Parra, an opposition legislator accused of corruption, was already installed in the seat Mr Guaido has occupied for the last year.
Mr Parra caused a storm on Sunday when he declared himself parliament speaker after the armed forces had prevented Mr Guaido from entering the building.
Mr Parra was sworn in then by his backers.
Bribed deputies
Mr Guaido vowed on Monday to hold Tuesday's parliamentary session and branded Mr Parra "an accomplice to dictatorship."
Mr Parra said Mr Guaido would have the right to attend his session, but as just "another deputy."
Both men claimed on Sunday they had the support of enough deputies to be elected president of the legislature.
Before Sunday's vote, Mr Guaido said the Maduro government had bribed some opposition deputies to vote against him.
Parra's support mainly comes from deputies loyal to Mr Maduro while the opposition holds 112 of the 167 seats in the assembly.
Mr Guaido said 100 deputies voted for him and Mr Parra claimed the support of 81 lawmakers.
