Content area
Full text
Venezuela remains in a deep crisis under the authoritarian rule of Nicolás Maduro of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). Maduro, narrowly elected in 2013 after the death of President Hugo Chávez (1999-2013), began a second termin January 2019 that is widely considered illegitimate. Despite U.S. and international pressure to leave office, Maduro remains firmly in power. His party now controls a de facto National Assembly seated on January 5, 2021.
Since January 2019, the United States has recognized Juan Guaidó, president of the democratically elected, opposition- controlled National Assembly elected in December 2015, as interim president. Guaidó, once recognized as Venezuela's leader by more than 55 countries, has been losing international and Venezuelan domestic support. Although the Biden Administration and many in Congress support Guaidó, some are calling for a new strategy for Venezuela.
Political Situation
Maduro, reelected in May 2018 in an election widely deemed to be fraudulent, has used the Venezuelan courts, security forces, and electoral council to quash dissent. Security forces have detained and abused Maduros opponents, including military officers and opposition politicians. As of mid-January 2021, the government held some 350 political prisoners. The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights documented thousands of extrajudicial killings and other abuses committed by security forces that it described as crimes against humanity. Electoral authorities convened December 2020 legislative elections boycotted by the opposition; plagued by irregularities; and rejected by the United States, the European Union (EU), and most Latin American countries.
The Venezuelan opposition is weak and divided, with many of its leaders in exile. Although Guaidó challenged Maduros authority in 2019, his support has since faded substantially. In 2019, two Guaidó-led efforts to encourage security forces to abandon Maduro failed. After Norway-led negotiations stalled in mid-2019, the Maduro government increased persecution of Guaidós supporters. Since March 2020, restrictions put in place to combat the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) have limited Guaidós ability to convene protests. Guaidó alsolost support after reports emerged that he condoned a plan that ended in a botched raid against Maduro in May 2020. Guaidó and other opposition legislators now face prosecution by judicial authorities, who assert the legislators no longer have immunity since their legislative terms ended in January 2021.
Economic...