Venezuela's President-elect Nicolas Maduro flew to a South American summit in Peru Thursday, seeking international support on the eve of his inauguration amid a crisis over demands for a recount. Maduro smiled and appeared relaxed at his arrival in Lima before the meeting with presidents from across the region who were convened for a special session on the political impasse in his oil-rich OPEC nation. "We are going to take the truth about Venezuela" to the meeting, Maduro said in a nationally broadcast speech before leaving.

Venezuela's opposition is creating fresh complications for Nicolas Maduro, who will inherit a deeply divided nation and a shaky economy when he is sworn in Friday, analysts say. Having emerged a narrow victor in Sunday's presidential elections to succeed his mentor Hugo Chavez, Maduro has defiantly navigated deadly protests, but on entering office he will face renewed pressure from his opponents.

Venezuela's President-elect Nicolas Maduro headed to a South American summit Thursday on the eve of his inauguration, seeking to denounce the opposition for deadly post-election protests. Regional leaders were meeting in Peru later in the day in a special session of the Union of South American Nations to discuss the political crisis in Venezuela, where opposition candidate Henrique Capriles has demanded a recount of the returns from last Sunday's election.

Nicolas Maduro steamrolled toward his inauguration as president Thursday, pushing past opposition demands for a recount in elections to replace Hugo Chavez despite days of flaring tensions. Venezuelan fighter jets, including Russian-made Sukhoi-35s, streaked across Caracas in an apparent rehearsal for Friday's swearing-in ceremonies, which were expected to draw fellow South American leaders.