President Joe Biden on Monday met with Venezuela's opposition leader ahead of this week's inauguration of President Nicolas Maduro's contested third term, according to multiple reports.

US President Joe Biden met exiled Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia at the White House on Monday and warned authorities in Caracas against carrying out reprisals against peaceful protesters.

US President Joe Biden has called the exiled candidate for Venezuela's opposition, Edmundo González, "the true winner" of the country's presidential election last July after meeting him at the White House. In a post on social media, Biden said Venezuela deserved a "peaceful transfer of power".