Jan 3 (Reuters) – Following are some key facts about Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan president who President Donald Trump said had been captured by U.S. forces on Saturday.
Trump, whose government has accused Maduro of running drug cartels and other crimes, had been pressuring the strongman to leave office for months.
– Maduro was born into a working-class family on November 23, 1962, son of a trade union leader. He worked as a bus driver during the time army officer Hugo Chavez led a failed coup attempt in 1992.
– He campaigned for Chavez’s release from prison and became a fervent supporter of his leftist agenda. He won a seat in the legislature following Chavez’s 1998 election.
– He rose to become president of the National Assembly and then foreign minister, travelling the globe to build international alliances through oil-financed assistance programs.
– Chavez named him as his hand-picked successor and Maduro was narrowly elected president in 2013 following Chavez’s death.
– His administration oversaw a spectacular economic collapse characterized by hyperinflation and chronic shortages. His rule became best known for allegedly rigged elections, food shortages and rights abuses, including harsh crackdowns on protests in 2014 and 2017. Millions of Venezuelans emigrated abroad.
– His government was subject to aggressive sanctions by the U.S. and other powers. In 2020 Washington indicted him on corruption and other charges. Maduro rejected the accusations.
– He was sworn in for a third term in January 2025 following a 2024 election that was widely condemned by international observers and the opposition as fraudulent. Thousands of people who protested the government’s declaration of victory were jailed.
– A U.N. Fact-Finding Mission found last month that the country’s Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) committed serious human rights violations and crimes against humanity over more than a decade in targeting political opponents, often with impunity.
– His government’s repressive measures were highlighted by the award of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.
(Compiled by Frances Kerry)
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