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Venezuela's "colectivos," groups of armed civilian volunteers accused of committing violence on behalf of Nicolas Maduro's pariah regime, are poised to pounce on opposition protests called on the eve of the president's swearing-in ceremony.
They have already been deployed to violently put down demonstrations that erupted after Maduro's declaration of re-election victory last July -- a claim not recognized by much of the world.
"We are truly the defenders, the defenders of the homeland, the defenders of the revolutionary process," says 55-year-old colectivo member Teodoro Cortez in the capital. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES ARRANGED IN SEQUENCES