Who Is Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s long-ruling leader?

Nicolás Maduro is a Venezuelan politician who ruled the country for nearly 12 years before the United States announced his capture during an operation in Caracas in 2026.

Born in 1962 into a working-class family, Maduro was the son of a trade union leader and worked as a bus driver before entering politics. He rose to prominence as a close ally of former president Hugo Chávez, supporting him after the failed 1992 coup attempt.

Maduro entered parliament in 1998 following Chávez’s election victory and later served as president of the National Assembly and Venezuela’s foreign minister, where he built international alliances backed by oil diplomacy.

In 2012, Chávez named Maduro as his successor. Following Chávez’s death, Maduro narrowly won the 2013 presidential election.

His presidency was marked by severe economic decline, including hyperinflation, shortages of food and medicine, and the emigration of millions of Venezuelans. His government faced allegations of election manipulation and forceful crackdowns on protests in 2014 and 2017.

The United States imposed sanctions on Maduro in 2020, accusing him of corruption and drug trafficking — claims he consistently denied. In January 2025, he was sworn in for a third term after an election widely rejected by international observers.