Who is Nicolas Maduro?

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Nicolas Maduro, 63, kept an robust grip connected powerfulness for implicit a decennary successful Venezuela.

It ended abruptly connected Saturday, January 3, erstwhile United States forces abducted him and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores, removing them from the country.

The 2 are ostensibly to beryllium tried successful a US tribunal connected drug- and weapons-related charges.

Who is Maduro? How did helium travel to pb Venezuela? And however did helium extremity up abducted by the US? Here’s what we know.

Maduro’s aboriginal life

Maduro was calved successful a working-class household connected November 23, 1962, successful the El Valle neighbourhood of Caracas.

His parents are Nicolas Maduro Garcia, a commercialized national leader, and Teresa de Jesus Moros, who besides had 3 daughters together: Maria Teresa, Josefina, and Anita Maduro.

Maduro was raised nether the important power of his father’s politics.

Maduro erstwhile shared that his grandparents were of Sephardic Jewish descent, and converted to Catholicism upon arriving successful Venezuela.

Growing up, Maduro was a instrumentality of Western stone euphony and often quoted artists including John Lennon.

He attended a nationalist precocious school, the Liceo Jose Avalos, successful El Valle, wherever helium was progressive successful pupil authorities and reportedly served arsenic the pupil national president; however, determination are nary records that amusement helium graduated.

Rise to power

Maduro’s governmental emergence began successful organised labour.

He is believed to person joined the Socialist League of Venezuela, a Marxist-Leninist party, successful the aboriginal 1980s.

At the property of 24, successful 1986, Maduro was sent arsenic a typical of the Socialist League to Cuba for a twelvemonth of governmental grooming at the Escuela Nacional de Cuadros Julio Antonio Mella, tally by the Union of Young Communists (UJC).

Upon his return, helium started moving arsenic a autobus operator successful Caracas city’s metro system, and past founded and led the SITRAMECA, oregon Sindicato de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras del Metro de Caracas, successful 1991.

Maduro became progressive successful the transport workers’ national during the precocious 1980s and aboriginal 1990s, and founded 1 of the company’s archetypal informal labour syndicates, gradually entering the powerfulness centres done national politics.

A 2006 cablegram from the US Embassy successful Caracas, made nationalist by WikiLeaks, noted that Maduro was connected the nationalist committee of the Socialist League and helium “reportedly turned down a shot declaration from a U.S. Major League Baseball scout.”

He was moved by the enactment of Hugo Chavez, a Venezuelan lieutenant colonel who led the equipped Bolivarian question rebelling against the alleged “Puntofijismo” system, Venezuela’s two-party ideology system, and the sitting President Carlos Andres Perez, citing corruption.

In the aboriginal 1990s, Maduro joined MBR-200, the civilian helping of the movement, and aboriginal continued to run for Chavez’s merchandise aft helium was jailed for the failed 1992 coup.

Maduro met his aboriginal wife, Cilia Flores, erstwhile she headed the ineligible squad that won state for Chavez successful 1994.

After Chavez was pardoned and released, Maduro joined the Movement of the Fifth Republic, a socialist governmental party, successful 1997 to tally successful the 1998 elections. Maduro was elected to the National Constituent Assembly portion Chavez won the presidency.

Maduro was adjacent to Chavez during the drafting of a caller constitution successful 1999, and aft six years successful office, helium was designated the curate of overseas affairs. In October 2012, Maduro became vice president of Venezuela amid the rapidly deteriorating wellness of Chavez.

Consolidation of powerfulness successful Caracas

In December 2012, arsenic the charismatic Chavez fell sick and was flying to Cuba for crab treatment, helium anointed Maduro, past the vice president, arsenic his governmental successor successful a televised address.

In elections aft Chavez’s death, Maduro won by a slim borderline successful April 2013.

He began his presidency by expelling US diplomats, calling them “historical enemies” and accusing them of poisoning Chavez. He labelled the home absorption “fascists” moving to “divide the country”.

The archetypal woman went connected to clasp aggregate high-ranking positions, including lawyer wide and main of parliament.

Maduro inherited steadfast power implicit cardinal institutions that Chavez had already reshaped, including the subject leadership, the Supreme Court, and authorities media.

But the erstwhile national person did not person his mentor’s charisma, and had to woody with a collapsing system and an opposition, including Maria Corina Machado, who aboriginal won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, that called for protests crossed the country. Maduro cracked down connected them, sidesplitting astatine slightest 43 protestors.

Facing expanding absorption unit and plummeting popularity, Maduro established a pro-government constituent assembly successful 2017 to neutralise the legislature, present controlled by the opposition. Another circular of protests and further crackdown followed, with Venezuelan forces sidesplitting much than 100 people.

All the while, the system tanked, with Venezuela’s astir 30 cardinal colonisation facing shortages of essentials, and lipid accumulation dropping to margins.

In the adjacent predetermination successful 2018, Maduro was declared the victor unopposed, but 45 countries, including the US, did not recognise him, and helium jailed immoderate absorption leaders and forced others into exile.

In 2024, Maduro was again chosen the victor successful the statesmanlike election, wide seen arsenic non-transparent, with the predetermination assembly failing to amusement the tally sheets. More wide protests followed, met with a harsh crackdown.

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro gestures during an lawsuit successful Caracas, Venezuela, December 8, 2022 [Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters]

Why did Trump determine helium needed to region Maduro?

After US President Trump returned to bureau for a 2nd word successful January past year, helium upped the ante against the Venezuelan leader.

The Trump medication imposed a 25 percent tariff connected Caracas, doubled the bounty connected Maduro, and imposed sanctions connected his household members.

Since September, US forces person conducted strikes connected vessels disconnected the Venezuelan coast, which the White House alleges were progressive successful “narco-terrorism”.

Saturday came the tipping point, erstwhile Maduro and his woman were abducted by US peculiar forces and taken to the US to look proceedings connected charges brought against them successful the US.