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The Venezuelan presidential crisis is an ongoing political crisis concerning the leadership and the legitimate
president of Venezuela The president of Venezuela ( es, Presidente de Venezuela), officially known as the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, Presidente de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is the head of state and head of government in Ven ...
; the office of the president has been contested since 10 January 2019, with the nation and the world divided in support for
Nicolás Maduro Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and president of Venezuela since 2013, with his presidency under dispute since 2019. Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade union ...
or
Juan Guaidó Juan Gerardo Guaidó Márquez (born 28 July 1983) is a Venezuelan politician, a former member of the social-democratic Popular Will party, and federal deputy to the National Assembly representing the state of Vargas. On 23 January 2019, Guaid� ...
. The process and results of the 20 May 2018 presidential election were widely disputed. The opposition-majority
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...
declared Maduro a "usurper" of the presidency on the day of his second inauguration and disclosed a plan to set forth its president Guaidó as the succeeding
acting president An acting president is a person who temporarily fills the role of a country's president when the incumbent president is unavailable (such as by illness or a vacation) or when the post is vacant (such as for death, injury, resignation, dismissal ...
of the country under article 233 of the Venezuelan Constitution. A week later, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice declared that the presidency of the National Assembly was the "usurper" of authority and declared the body to be unconstitutional. Minutes after Maduro took the oath as president, the
Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 Apri ...
(OAS) approved a resolution in a special session of its Permanent Council declaring Maduro's presidency illegitimate and urging new elections. Special meetings of the OAS on 24 January and in the
United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, ...
on 26 January were held but no consensus was reached.
Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...
António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres ( , ; born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. Since 2017, he has served as secretary-general of the United Nations, the ninth person to hold this title. A member of the Portuguese Soci ...
called for dialogue. During the 49th
General Assembly of the Organization of American States The General Assembly is the supreme decision-making body of the Organization of American States (OAS). The General Assembly came into being as a part of the restructuring of the OAS that took place following adoption of the Protocol of Buenos Ai ...
on 27 June, Guaidó's presidency was recognized by the organization. Guaidó and the National Assembly declared he was acting president and swore himself in on 23 January. Maduro's government has accused the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
of organizing a
coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
to remove him and take control of the country's oil reserves. Guaidó rejects the characterization of his actions as a coup, saying that his movement is backed by peaceful volunteers. Guaidó was recognized as legitimate by about 60 countries; Maduro by about 20 countries. Internationally, support has followed geopolitical lines, with Russia, China, Cuba, Iran, Syria, and Turkey supporting Maduro, while the majority of
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
and
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...
n countries supported Guaidó as acting president. On 5 January 2020, the National Assembly Delegated Committee election resulted in claimed victories by both Guaidó and legislator
Luis Parra Luis Eduardo Parra Rivero (born 7 July 1978) is a Venezuelan politician who was in a dispute with Juan Guaidó for a year over who was the President of the National Assembly of Venezuela based on a vote on 5 January 2020. The investigative jou ...
as the president of National Assembly, starting another crisis in the legislative body, in addition to the presidential crisis. Support for Guaidó has declined since a failed military uprising attempt in April 2019.* * * Following the failed uprising, representatives of Guaidó and Maduro began mediation, with the assistance of the Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution. After the second meeting in Norway, no deal was reached. On 9 July 2019 negotiations started again in
Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estima ...
with representatives from both sides. On 15 September, Guaidó announced that the opposition concluded the dialogue after the absence of the government in the negotiations for forty days as a protest against the recent sanctions by the United States. In late March 2020, the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
proposed a transitional government that would exclude both Maduro and Guaidó from the presidency. U.S. Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served under President Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2017 to 2018 and as the 70th United State ...
said that sanctions did not apply to humanitarian aid during the coronavirus pandemic health emergency and that the United States would lift all sanctions if Maduro agreed to organize elections that did not include himself in a period of six to twelve months. Guaidó accepted the proposal, while Venezuela's foreign minister,
Jorge Arreaza Jorge Alberto Arreaza Montserrat (Venezuelan ; born 6 June 1973) is a Venezuelan politician who has held several important positions in the administration of President Hugo Chávez and his successor Nicolás Maduro. From August 2017 to August 2 ...
, rejected it and declared that only parliamentary elections would take place that year. By January 2020, efforts led by Guaidó to create a transitional government have been unsuccessful and Maduro continues to control Venezuela's state institutions. As of 6 January 2021, the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
stopped recognizing Guaidó as president but still does not recognize Maduro as the legitimate president, threatening with further sanctions. After the announcement of regional elections in 2021, Guaidó announced a "national salvation agreement" and proposed the negotiation with Maduro with a schedule for free and fair elections, with international support and observers, in exchange of lifting the
international sanctions International sanctions are political and economic decisions that are part of diplomatic efforts by countries, multilateral or regional organizations against states or organizations either to protect national security interests, or to protect i ...
.


Background

Since 2010, Venezuela has been suffering a socioeconomic crisis under
Nicolás Maduro Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and president of Venezuela since 2013, with his presidency under dispute since 2019. Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade union ...
and briefly under his predecessor
Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...
, as rampant
crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in C ...
,
hyperinflation In economics, hyperinflation is a very high and typically accelerating inflation. It quickly erodes the real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimize their holdings in that currency as t ...
and
shortages In economics, a shortage or excess demand is a situation in which the demand for a product or service exceeds its supply in a market. It is the opposite of an excess supply ( surplus). Definitions In a perfect market (one that matches a ...
diminish the quality of life. As a result of discontent with the government, the opposition was elected to hold the majority in the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...
for the first time since 1999 following the 2015 parliamentary election. After the election, the lame duck National Assembly consisting of Bolivarian officials filled the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, the highest court in Venezuela, with Maduro allies. The tribunal stripped three opposition lawmakers of their National Assembly seats in early 2016, citing alleged "irregularities" in their elections, thereby preventing an opposition
supermajority A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority ru ...
which would have been able to challenge President Maduro. In January 2016, the National Assembly declared a "health humanitarian crisis" given the "serious shortage of medicines, medical supplies and deterioration of humanitarian infrastructure", asking Maduro's government to "guarantee immediate access to the list of essential medicines that are basic and indispensable and that must be accessible at all times." The tribunal approved several actions by Maduro and granted him more powers in 2017. As protests mounted against Maduro, he called for a
constituent assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
that would draft a new constitution to replace the 1999 Venezuela Constitution created under Chávez. Many countries considered these actions a bid by Maduro to stay in power indefinitely, and over 40 countries stated that they would not recognize the
2017 Constituent National Assembly The Constituent National Assembly ( es, Asamblea Nacional Constituyente; ANC) was a constituent assembly elected in 2017 to draft a new constitution for Venezuela. Its members were elected in a special 2017 election that was condemned by over fo ...
(ANC).


The
Democratic Unity Roundtable The Democratic Unity Roundtable ( es, Mesa de la Unidad Democrática, MUD) was a catch-all electoral coalition of Venezuelan political parties formed in January 2008 to unify the opposition to President Hugo Chávez's United Socialist Party of ...
, the main opposition to the incumbent ruling party, boycotted the election, saying that the ANC was "a trick to keep
he incumbent ruling party He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
in power." Since the opposition did not participate in the election, the
Great Patriotic Pole The Simón Bolívar Great Patriotic Pole ( es, Gran Polo Patriótico Simón Bolívar, GPPSB) is a left-wing socialist and chavist electoral alliance/popular front of Venezuelan political parties created in 2012 to support the re-election of Hu ...
coalition and its supporters, including the incumbent
United Socialist Party of Venezuela The United Socialist Party of Venezuela ( es, Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela, PSUV) is a left-wing to far-left socialist political party which has been the ruling party of Venezuela since 2010. It was formed from a merger of some of the p ...
, won all seats in the assembly by default. On 8 August 2017, the ANC declared itself to be the government branch with supreme power in Venezuela, banning the opposition-led National Assembly from performing actions that would interfere with the assembly while continuing to pass measures in "support and solidarity" with President Maduro, effectively stripping the National Assembly of all its powers. Maduro disavowed the National Assembly in 2017. As of 2018, some considered the National Assembly the only "legitimate" institution left in the country and human rights organizations said there were no independent institutional checks on presidential power.


2018 election and calls for transitional government

In February 2018, Maduro called for presidential elections four months before the prescribed date. He was declared the winner in May 2018 after multiple major opposition parties were banned from participating, among other irregularities; many said the elections were invalid. Some politicians both internally and internationally said Maduro was not legitimately elected and considered him an ineffective dictator. In the months leading up to his 10 January 2019 inauguration, Maduro was pressured to step down by nations and bodies including the
Lima Group The Lima Group (GL; Spanish and pt, links=yes, Grupo de Lima, French: Groupe de Lima) is a multilateral body that was established following the Lima Declaration on 8 August 2017 in the Peruvian capital of Lima, where representatives of 12 cou ...
(excluding Mexico), the United States and the OAS; this pressure was increased after the new
National Assembly of Venezuela The National Assembly ( es, Asamblea Nacional) is the legislature for Venezuela that was first elected in 2000. It is a unicameral body made up of a variable number of members, who were elected by a "universal, direct, personal, and secret" vo ...
was sworn in on 5 January 2019.
*
Between the May 2018 presidential election and Maduro's inauguration, there were calls to establish a transitional government. In December 2018, Guaidó had traveled to Washington, D.C., met with OAS Secretary General
Luis Almagro Luis Leonardo Almagro Lemes (; born June 1, 1963) is a Uruguayan lawyer, diplomat, and politician who currently serves as the 10th Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS). He also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs betw ...
. On 14 January 2019, he traveled to Colombia for a Lima Group meeting, in which Maduro's mandate was rejected. According to an article in ''
El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...
'', the January Lima Group meeting and the stance taken by Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
Chrystia Freeland Christina Alexandra Freeland (born August 2, 1968) is a Canadian politician serving as the tenth and current deputy prime minister of Canada since 2019 and the minister of finance since 2020. A member of the Liberal Party, Freeland represen ...
were key. ''El País'' describes
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
's election—coinciding with the election of conservative presidents in Colombia and
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, along with deteriorating conditions in Venezuela—as "a perfect storm", with decisions influenced by U.S. officials including
Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...
, Secretary of State
Pompeo Pompeo is both a masculine Italian given name and a surname, derived from the Roman "Pompeius". Notable people with the name include: Given name: *Pompeo Aldrovandi (1668–1752), Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church * Pompeo Aldrovandini ...
,
National Security Advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National sec ...
John Bolton John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as the 26th United Sta ...
and legislators
Mario Díaz-Balart Mario Rafael Díaz-Balart Caballero (; born September 25, 1961) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 25th congressional district. A Republican, he was elected in 2002, and his district includes much of s ...
and
Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the ...
. Venezuelans
Carlos Vecchio Carlos Alfredo Vecchio DeMari (born 6 June 1969) is a Venezuelan lawyer, politician and social activist, designated as Ambassador to the US by Juan Guaidó in January 2019 during the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis. His Credential Letter was ...
,
Julio Borges Julio Andrés Borges Junyent (born 22 October 1969, in Caracas) is a Venezuelan politician and lawyer. In the late 1990s he had a TV court show called "Justicia Para Todos" on Radio Caracas Televisión. He co-founded the party Primero Justicia ...
and
Gustavo Tarre Gustavo Tarre Briceño is a Venezuelan politician, lawyer, author, professor of constitutional law and politic science, and representative to the Organization of American States (OAS). Tarre was named by Venezuela's National Assembly as a Special ...
were consulted and the Trump administration decision to back Guaidó formed on 22 January, according to ''El País''. Díaz-Balart said that the decision was the result of two years of planning.


Justification for the challenge

The Venezuelan opposition says its actions are based on the 1999 Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, specifically Articles 233, 333 and 350. The first paragraph of Article 233 states that "when the president-elect is absolutely absent before taking office, a new election shall take place ..And while the president is elected and takes office, the interim president shall be the president of the National Assembly." Article 333 calls for citizens to restore and enforce the Constitution if it is not followed. Article 350 calls for citizens to "disown any regime, legislation or authority that violates democratic values, principles and guarantees or encroaches upon human rights." Article 233 was invoked after the death of
Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...
in 2013, which took place soon after his inauguration, and extraordinary elections were called within thirty days. Invoked by the National Assembly, Guaidó was declared
acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...
president until elections could be held; Diego A. Zambrano, an assistant professor of law at
Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...
, says that "Venezuelan lawyers disagree on the best reading of this provision. Some argue Guaidó can serve longer if the electoral process is scheduled within a reasonable time." The National Assembly announced that it will designate a committee to appoint a new National Electoral Council, in anticipation of free elections.


2019 events


Inauguration of Maduro

Signs of impending crisis showed when a
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
Justice and Electoral Justice seen as close to Maduro defected to the United States just a few days before the 10 January 2019
second inauguration of Nicolás Maduro The second inauguration of Nicolás Maduro as President of Venezuela took place on Thursday, 10 January 2019. The inauguration involved the swearing-in of Nicolás Maduro for his second term, and, especially within the context of Maduro's election ...
. The justice, , said that Maduro was "incompetent" and "illegitimate". Minutes after Maduro took the oath as president of Venezuela, the OAS approved a resolution in a special session of its Permanent Council declaring Maduro's presidency illegitimate and urging new elections. Maduro's election was supported by Turkey, Russia, China, and the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (
ALBA ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kin ...
).
Juan Guaidó Juan Gerardo Guaidó Márquez (born 28 July 1983) is a Venezuelan politician, a former member of the social-democratic Popular Will party, and federal deputy to the National Assembly representing the state of Vargas. On 23 January 2019, Guaid� ...
, the newly appointed
president of the National Assembly of Venezuela The president of the National Assembly ( es, Presidente de la Asamblea Nacional) is the presiding officer (speaker) of the National Assembly, Venezuela's unicameral legislature. The president's term coincides with the term of the legislature (fi ...
, began motions to form a
provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or ...
shortly after assuming his new role on 5 January 2019, stating that whether or not Maduro began his new term on the 10th, the country would not have a legitimately elected president in either case. On behalf of the National Assembly, he stated that the country had fallen into a ''
de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...
'' dictatorship and had no leader, declaring that the nation faced a state of emergency. He called for "soldiers who wear their uniforms with honor to step forward and enforce the Constitution", and asked "citizens for confidence, strength, and to accompany us on this path". Guaidó announced a public assembly, referred to as an
open cabildo The open cabildo (Spanish: ''cabildo abierto'') is a traditional Hispanic American political action for convening citizens to make important decisions. It is comparable to the North American town hall meeting. History Colonial period The open ...
, on 11 January—a rally in the streets of Caracas, where the National Assembly announced that Guaidó was assuming the role of the acting president under the
Constitution of Venezuela The Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, Constitución de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela (CRBV)) is the current and twenty-sixth constitution of Venezuela. It was drafted in mid-1999 by a constituent assembly that ...
and announcing plans to remove Maduro. Leaders of other political parties, trade unions, women, and the students of Venezuela were given a voice at the rally; other parties did not speak of a divide, but of what they saw as a failed
Bolivarian Revolution The Bolivarian Revolution is a political process in Venezuela that was led by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, the founder of the Fifth Republic Movement and later the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). The Bolivarian Revolution is ...
that needed to end. Maduro's response was to call the opposition a group of "little boys", describing Guaidó as "immature". The Minister for Prison Services,
Iris Varela María Iris Varela Rangel (San Cristóbal, Táchira, Venezuela, March 9, 1969) is a Venezuelan leftist politician, activist, criminologist, corrupt, member of the board of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and Minister of Popular P ...
, threatened that she had picked out a prison cell for Guaidó and asked him to be quick in naming his cabinet so she could prepare prison cells for them as well. On 21 January, over two dozen National Guardsmen participated in a mutiny against Maduro with the assistance of residents in the area during the early morning hours. Government forces repressed the protestors tear gas and the officers were later captured. During the night, over thirty communities in Caracas and surrounding areas participated in strong protests against the Maduro government. The strongest protests occurred in San José de Cotiza, where the rebel National Guardsmen were arrested, with demonstrations spreading throughout nearby communities, with
cacerolazo A cacerolazo ( or ), cacerolada (, ) or casserole is a form of popular protest which consists of a group of people making noise by banging pots, pans, and other utensils in order to call for attention. The first documented protests of this styl ...
s heard throughout Caracas. One woman who was confused for a protester was killed in San José de Cotiza by members of a colectivo, who stole her phone.


Guaidó declared acting president

Following Guaidó's speech, the National Assembly released a press statement saying that Guaidó had assumed the role of acting president. A later statement clarified the position of Guaidó as "willing to assume command ... only possible with the help of Venezuelans". The opposition considered this legitimate based on the acknowledged "illegitimacy" of Maduro by many governments, and the constitutional processes that the National Assembly said they were following, specifically invoking Articles 233, 333, and 350 of the Constitution. The president of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela in exile, based in Panama, wrote to Guaidó, requesting him to become acting president of Venezuela. On 15 January 2019, the National Assembly approved legislation to work with dozens of foreign countries to request that these nations freeze Maduro administration bank accounts. Guaidó wrote a 15 January 2019 opinion piece in ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'' entitled "Maduro is a usurper. It's time to restore democracy in Venezuela"; he outlined Venezuela's erosion of democracy and his reasoning for the need to replace Maduro on an interim basis according to Venezuela's constitution. Guaidó announced nationwide protests to be held on 23 January—the same day as the removal of Marcos Pérez Jiménez in 1958—using a slogan chant of ''¡
Sí se puede "Sí, se puede" (Spanish for "Yes, it is possible" or, roughly, "Yes, we can"; ) is the motto of the United Farm Workers of America, and has since been taken up by other activist groups. In 1972, during César Chávez's 25-day fast in Phoenix, ...
!''. The National Assembly worked with the coalition ''Frente Amplio Venezuela Libre'' to create a plan for the demonstrations, organizing a unified national force. On 11 January, plans to offer incentives for the armed forces to disavow Maduro were announced. OAS Secretary-General
Luis Almagro Luis Leonardo Almagro Lemes (; born June 1, 1963) is a Uruguayan lawyer, diplomat, and politician who currently serves as the 10th Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS). He also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs betw ...
was the first to give official support to this action, tweeting "We welcome the assumption of Juan Guaidó as interim president of Venezuela in accordance with Article 233 of the Political Constitution. You have our support, that of the international community and of the people of Venezuela." Later that day, Brazil and Colombia gave their support to Guaidó as acting president of Venezuela. Guaidó was detained on 13 January by the
Bolivarian Intelligence Service The Bolivarian National Intelligence Service ( es, Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional, SEBIN) is the premier intelligence agency in Venezuela. SEBIN is an internal security force subordinate to the Vice President of Venezuela since 201 ...
(SEBIN) and released 45 minutes later. The SEBIN agents who intercepted his car and took him into custody were fired. The Information Minister, Jorge Rodríguez, said the agents did not have instructions and the arrest was orchestrated by Guaidó as a "media stunt" to gain popularity;
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...
correspondents said that it appeared to be a genuine ambush to send a message to the opposition. Almagro condemned the arrest, which he called a "kidnapping", while Pompeo referred to it as an "arbitrary detention". After his detention, Guaidó said that Rodríguez's admission that the SEBIN agents acted independently showed that the government had lost control of its security forces; he called Miraflores (the presidential palace) "desperate", and stated: "There is one legitimate president of the National Assembly and of all Venezuela."


Guaidó swears oath as acting president

On 23 January, Guaidó swore to serve as acting president. On that morning, Guaidó tweeted, "The world's eyes are on our homeland today." On that day, millions of Venezuelans demonstrated across the country and world in support of Guaidó, with a few hundred supporting Maduro outside Miraflores. At one end of the blocked street was a stage where Guaidó spoke and took an oath to serve as interim president. The
Venezuelan National Guard The Bolivarian National Guard of Venezuela ( es, Guardia Nacional Bolivariana de Venezuela - GNB), is one of the four components of the National Armed Forces of Venezuela. The national guard can serve as gendarmerie, perform civil defense roles, ...
used tear gas on gathering crowds at other locations, and blocked protesters from arriving. Some protests grew violent, and at least 13 people were killed.
Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2018 to 2022. She previously served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and 2014 to 201 ...
of the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
requested a UN investigation into the security forces' use of violence. Guaidó began to appoint individuals in late January to serve as aides or diplomats, including
Carlos Vecchio Carlos Alfredo Vecchio DeMari (born 6 June 1969) is a Venezuelan lawyer, politician and social activist, designated as Ambassador to the US by Juan Guaidó in January 2019 during the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis. His Credential Letter was ...
as the Guaidó administration's diplomatic envoy to the US,
Gustavo Tarre Gustavo Tarre Briceño is a Venezuelan politician, lawyer, author, professor of constitutional law and politic science, and representative to the Organization of American States (OAS). Tarre was named by Venezuela's National Assembly as a Special ...
to the OAS, and
Julio Borges Julio Andrés Borges Junyent (born 22 October 1969, in Caracas) is a Venezuelan politician and lawyer. In the late 1990s he had a TV court show called "Justicia Para Todos" on Radio Caracas Televisión. He co-founded the party Primero Justicia ...
to represent Venezuela in the
Lima Group The Lima Group (GL; Spanish and pt, links=yes, Grupo de Lima, French: Groupe de Lima) is a multilateral body that was established following the Lima Declaration on 8 August 2017 in the Peruvian capital of Lima, where representatives of 12 cou ...
. He announced that the National Assembly had approved a commission to implement a plan for the reconstruction of Venezuela, called
Plan País Plan País Venezuela (English: ''Plan for the Country'') is a plan organized by Juan Guaidó and the National Assembly of Venezuela created to revitalize Venezuela's economy, petroleum industry, and social sectors. Origins Plan País Venezuel ...
(Plan for the Country), and he offered an
Amnesty law An Amnesty law is any legislative, constitutional or executive arrangement that retroactively exempts a select group of people, usually military leaders and government leaders, from criminal liability for the crimes that they committed. More speci ...
, approved by the National Assembly, for military personnel and authorities who help to "restore constitutional order". The
Statute Governing the Transition to Democracy The Statute Governing the Transition to Democracy to Re-establish the Validity of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, Estatuto que rige la Transición a la democracia para restablecer la vigencia de la Constitución de ...
was approved by the National Assembly on 5 February. As of July 2019, the National Assembly had approved Juan Guaidó's appointment has named 37 ambassadors and foreign representatives to international organizations and nations abroad.


Maduro response

Maduro accused the US of backing a coup and said he would cut ties with them. He said Guaidó's actions were part of a "well-written script from Washington" to create a
puppet state A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside power and subject to its orders.Compare: Puppet states have nominal sove ...
of the United States, and appealed to the American people in a 31 January video, asking them not to "convert Venezuela into another Vietnam". Maduro asked for dialogue with Guaidó, saying "if I have to go meet this boy in the Pico Humboldt at three in the morning I am going, ..if I have to go naked, I am going, believethat today, sooner rather than later, the way is open for a reasonable, sincere dialogue". He stated he would not leave the presidential office, saying that he was elected in compliance with the Venezuelan constitution. With the two giving speeches to supporters at the same time, Guaidó replied to Maduro's call for dialogue, saying he would not initiate diplomatic talks with Maduro because he believed it would be a farce and fake diplomacy that could not achieve anything. On 18 February, Maduro's government expelled a group of Members of the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...
that planned to meet Guaidó. The expulsion was condemned by Guaidó as well as
Pablo Casado Pablo Casado Blanco (; born 1 February 1981) is a Spanish former politician. He was a member of the Congress of Deputies representing Madrid until 4 April 2022, having previously represented Ávila between 2011 and 2019. From 2015 to 2018, he al ...
, president of the
Spanish People's Party The People's Party ( es, Partido Popular ; known mostly by its acronym, PP ) is a conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Spain. The People's Party was a 1989 re-foundation of People's Alliance (AP), a party led by former m ...
, and the Colombian government. Maduro's Foreign Minister
Jorge Arreaza Jorge Alberto Arreaza Montserrat (Venezuelan ; born 6 June 1973) is a Venezuelan politician who has held several important positions in the administration of President Hugo Chávez and his successor Nicolás Maduro. From August 2017 to August 2 ...
defended the expulsions, saying that the constitutional government of Venezuela "will not allow the European extreme right to disturb the peace and stability of the country with another of its gross interventionist actions."


Humanitarian aid crisis

Shortages in Venezuela Shortages in Venezuela of regulated food staples and basic necessities have been widespread following the enactment of price controls and other policies under the government of Hugo Chávez and exacerbated by the policy of withholding United ...
have been present since 2007 during the presidency of
Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...
. In 2016, the
National Assembly of Venezuela The National Assembly ( es, Asamblea Nacional) is the legislature for Venezuela that was first elected in 2000. It is a unicameral body made up of a variable number of members, who were elected by a "universal, direct, personal, and secret" vo ...
declared a humanitarian crisis, asking Maduro's government to provide access to essential medicines and medical supplies. Before the presidential crisis, the Maduro government denied several offers of aid, stating that there was not a humanitarian crisis and that such claims were used to justify foreign intervention.
*
*
*
Maduro's refusal of aid worsened the effects of Venezuela's crisis. During the presidential crisis, Maduro initially refused aid, stating that Venezuela is not a country of "beggars". Guaidó made bringing humanitarian aid to the country a priority. In early February, Maduro prevented the American-sponsored aid from entering Venezuela via Colombia, and Venezuela's communications minister, Jorge Rodriguez, said there was a plot between Colombia, the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
and exiled Venezuelan politician
Julio Borges Julio Andrés Borges Junyent (born 22 October 1969, in Caracas) is a Venezuelan politician and lawyer. In the late 1990s he had a TV court show called "Justicia Para Todos" on Radio Caracas Televisión. He co-founded the party Primero Justicia ...
to oust Maduro. Humanitarian aid intended for Venezuela was also stockpiled on the Brazilian border, and two indigenous Pemon people were killed as they attempted to block military vehicles from entering the area, when members of armed forces loyal to Maduro fired upon them with live ammunition. Guaidó issued an ultimatum to the Venezuelan Armed Forces, stating that humanitarian aid would enter Venezuela on 23 February and that the armed forces "will have to decide if it will be on the side of the Venezuelans and the Constitution or the usurper". Guaidó defied the restriction imposed by the Maduro administration on him leaving Venezuela, secretly crossed the border, saying that with the help of the Venezuelan military, and appeared at the
Venezuela Aid Live Venezuela Aid Live was a concert to benefit Venezuela in Cúcuta, Colombia, a city near the Venezuelan border, on 22 February 2019. The all-day concert, called ''Música por Venezuela: Ayuda y Libertad'' (), was organized by Richard Branson and ...
concert in Cúcuta, Colombia on 22 February, also to be present for the planned delivery of humanitarian aid. Testing Maduro's authority, he was met by presidents Iván Duque of Colombia,
Sebastián Piñera Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique OMCh (; born 1 December 1949) is a Chilean billionaire businessman and politician who served as president of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022. The son of a Christian Democratic polit ...
from Chile, and
Mario Abdo Benítez Mario Abdo Benítez (; born 10 November 1971) is a Paraguayan politician who has served as the president of Paraguay since 2018. He was previously a senator and President of the Senate. Early life and education Abdo Benítez was born in Asun ...
from Paraguay, as well as the OAS Secretary-General
Luis Almagro Luis Leonardo Almagro Lemes (; born June 1, 1963) is a Uruguayan lawyer, diplomat, and politician who currently serves as the 10th Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS). He also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs betw ...
. On 23 February, trucks with humanitarian aid attempted to enter Venezuela from Brazil and Colombia; the attempts failed, with only one truck able to deliver aid. At the Colombia–Venezuela border, the caravans were tear-gassed or shot at with rubber bullets by Venezuelan personnel. The National Guard repressed demonstrations on the Brazilian border and colectivos attacked protesters near the Colombian border, leaving at least four dead, and more than 285 injured.


Lima Group meeting and Latin American tour

Guaidó traveled from Cúcuta to
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
for a 24 February meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence, and a 25 February meeting of the Lima Group. The group urged the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to pro ...
to pursue charges of crimes against humanity for the Maduro administration's use of violence against civilians and blockade of humanitarian aid. Pence did not rule out the use of US military force. The Venezuelan government responded saying that Pence was trying to order others to take the country's assets, and saying that its basic rights were being disregarded in a campaign to unseat Maduro. Brazil's vice president said it would not permit its territory to be used to invade Venezuela, and the European Union cautioned against the use of military force. The Lima Group rejected the use of force as well. The US FAA warned pilots not to fly below 26,000 feet over Venezuela, and
US military The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six Military branch, service branches: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States N ...
officials said they had flown
reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops ( skirmishe ...
flights off the coast of Venezuela to gather classified intelligence about Maduro. From Bogotá, Guaidó embarked on a regional tour to meet with the presidents of Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and Ecuador, to discuss ways to rebuild Venezuela and defeat Maduro. Guaidó's trip was approved by Venezuela's
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...
, as required by the Constitution of Venezuela, but he faced the possibility of being imprisoned when returning to Venezuela because of the travel restriction placed upon him by the Maduro administration. He re-entered Venezuela on 4 March, via Simón Bolívar International Airport in
Maiquetía Maiquetía is a city located in the Central Region of Venezuela, in the state of Vargas. It is at approximately 19 m above sea level on a small shelf between the Caribbean and the mountains behind it. Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, is approxi ...
, and was received at the airport by diplomats and in Caracas by a crowd of supporters. German ambassador Daniel Kriener was accused of interference in internal affairs and expelled from Venezuela because of his role in helping Guaidó re-enter.


Blackouts

In March 2019, Venezuela experienced a near total electrical blackout, and lost 150,000 barrels per day in crude oil production during the blackout. Full recovery of oil production was expected to take months, but by April, Venezuela's exports were steady at a million barrels daily, "partially due to inventory drains". Experts and state-run
Corpoelec Corpoelec is a fully integrated state power corporation of Venezuela. It was created in 2007 by merging ten state-owned and six private-owned power companies. , the president of the company, since 2015, is Luis Motta Domínguez, the Minis ...
(Corporación Eléctrica Nacional) sources attribute the electricity shortages to lack of maintenance, underinvestment, corruption and to a lack of technical expertise in the country resulting from a brain drain; and * *
Nicolás Maduro Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and president of Venezuela since 2013, with his presidency under dispute since 2019. Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade union ...
's administration attributes them to sabotage. Guaidó said that Venezuela's largest-ever
power outage A power outage (also called a powercut, a power out, a power failure, a power blackout, a power loss, or a blackout) is the loss of the electrical power network supply to an end user. There are many causes of power failures in an electricity ...
was "the product of the inefficiency, the incapability, the corruption of a regime that doesn't care about the lives of Venezuelans", Maduro's Attorney General, Tarek William Saab, called for an investigation of Guaidó, alleging that he had "sabotaged" the electric sector. While Maduro visited hydroelectric facilities in
Ciudad Guayana Ciudad Guayana () (in English Guayana City) is a city in Bolívar State, Venezuela. It stretches 40 kilometers along the south bank of the Orinoco river, at the point where it is joined by its main tributary, the Caroní river. The Caroni cro ...
on 16 March, promising to restructure the state-run power company
Corpoelec Corpoelec is a fully integrated state power corporation of Venezuela. It was created in 2007 by merging ten state-owned and six private-owned power companies. , the president of the company, since 2015, is Luis Motta Domínguez, the Minis ...
, his Vice President
Delcy Rodríguez Delcy Eloína Rodríguez Gómez (born 18 May 1969) is a Venezuelan politician serving as the vice president of Venezuela since 2018. She was also Minister of Popular Power for Communication and Information of Venezuela from 2013 to 2014, Min ...
announced that Maduro would restructure his administration, asking the "entire executive Cabinet to put their roles up for review". Guaidó announced he would embark on a tour of the country beginning 16 March, to organize committees for Operation Freedom with the goal to claim the presidential residence,
Miraflores Palace The ''Palacio de Miraflores'' (Spanish for Miraflores Palace) is the official residence of the President of Venezuela. It is located on Urdaneta Avenue, Libertador Bolivarian Municipality in Caracas. History Construction and decoration Con ...
. From the first rally in
Carabobo , anthem = '' Himno del Estado Carabobo'' , image_map = Carabobo in Venezuela.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location within Venezuela , pushpin_map = , pushpin_map_ ...
state, he said, "We will be in each state of Venezuela and for each state we have visited the responsibility will be yours, the leaders, the united, oorganize ourselves in freedom commands."
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nat ...
(OHCHR) commissioner
Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2018 to 2022. She previously served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and 2014 to 201 ...
's office sent a five-person delegation to Venezuela in March. On 20 March, Bachelet delivered a preliminary oral report before the UN Human Rights Council, in which she outlined a "devastating and deteriorating" human rights situation in Venezuela, expressed concern that sanctions would worsen the situation, and called on authorities to show a true commitment to recognizing and resolving the situation.
Elvis Amoroso Elvis Eduardo Hidrobo Amoroso (born 4 August 1963) is a Venezuelan politician and lawyer who currently serves as the Comptroller General of Venezuela as of 23 October 2018. He also holds the presidency of the Republican Moral Council (Spanish: ' ...
, Maduro's comptroller, alleged in March that Guaidó had not explained how he paid for his February 2019 Latin American trip, and said Guaidó would be barred from running for public office for fifteen years. The comptroller general is not a judicial body; according to constitutional lawyer José Vicente Haro, the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR or IACtHR) is an international court based in San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it was formed by the American Convention on Human Rights, a hum ...
ruled in 2011 that an administrative body cannot disallow a public servant from running. Constitutional law expert
Juan Manuel Raffalli Juan Manuel Raffalli Arismendi is a Venezuelan constitutional lawyer, law professor, and politician. Raffalli graduated from Andrés Bello Catholic University (UCAB) in 1986, and received his law degree, focused on procedural law, from UCAB in ...
stated that Article 65 of Venezuela's Constitution provides that such determinations may only be made by criminal courts, after judgment of criminal activity.


Red Cross aid effort

In March, Francesco Rocca, president of the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is a worldwide humanitarian aid organization that reaches 160 million people each year through its 192-member National Societies. It acts before, during and after disas ...
, announced that the
Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
was preparing to bring humanitarian aid to the country in April to help ease both the chronic hunger and the medical crisis. ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' said that the acceptance of humanitarian shipments by Maduro was his first acknowledgement that Venezuela is "suffering from an economic collapse." Also availabl
online.
/ref> Also availabl

/ref> After a 9 April meeting with the
International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...
(ICRC), Maduro indicated for the first time that he was prepared to accept international aid. Guaidó called on Venezuelans to "stay vigilant to make sure incoming aid is not diverted for 'corrupt' purposes". Following the joint report from Human Rights Watch and Johns Hopkins in April 2019, increasing announcements from the United Nations about the scale of the humanitarian crisis, and the softening of Maduro's position on receiving aid, the ICRC tripled its budget for aid to Venezuela. The first Red Cross delivery of supplies for hospitals arrived on 16 April, offering an encouraging sign that the Maduro administration would allow more aid to enter. According to ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', " armed pro-government paramilitaries" fired weapons to disrupt the first Red Cross delivery, and officials associated with Maduro's party told the Red Cross to leave. According to the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...
, having long denied that there was a humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, Maduro positioned the delivery "as a necessary measure to confront punishing U.S. economic sanctions." Having "rallied the international community", Guaidó "quickly claimed credit for the effort."


Revocation of Guaidó's parliamentary immunity

Chief justice
Maikel Moreno Maikel José Moreno Pérez (born 12 December 1965) is a lawyer, doctor of Venezuelan constitutional law, and judge who currently serves as president of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela. Moreno is currently a fugitive as part of an in ...
asked that the
Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
(ANC), controlled by Maduro loyalists, remove Guaidó's parliamentary immunity as president of the National Assembly, moving the Maduro administration a step closer towards prosecuting Guaidó. Guaidó supporters disagree that the Maduro-backed institutions have the authority to ban Guaidó from leaving the country and consider acts of the ANC "null and void." The Venezuelan Constitution provides that only the National Assembly can bring the president to trial by approving the legal proceeding in a "merit hearing." On 2 April, after the ANC voted to remove his parliamentary immunity, Guaidó promised to continue fighting "Maduro’s 'cowardly, miserable and murderous' regime."


Military uprising attempt

On 19 April, Guaidó called for a "definite end of the usurpation" and the "largest march in history" on 1 May. Coinciding with his speech,
NetBlocks NetBlocks is a watchdog organization that monitors cybersecurity and the governance of the Internet. The service was launched in 2017 to monitor Internet freedom. Work Projects NetBlocks publishes original reporting on Internet governan ...
stated that state-run
CANTV CANTV () is the state-run telephone and internet service provider in Venezuela. It was one of the first telephone service enterprises in the country, founded in 1930. The largest telecommunications provider in Venezuela, it was privatized in 19 ...
again blocked access to social media in Venezuela. On 30 April 2019,
Leopoldo López Leopoldo Eduardo López Mendoza (born 29 April 1971) is a Venezuelan opposition leader. He co-founded the political party Primero Justicia in 2000 with Henrique Capriles and Julio Borges and was elected mayor of the Chacao Municipality of Caraca ...
, who was held under house arrest by the Maduro administration, was freed on orders from Guaidó. The two men, flanked by members of the Venezuelan armed forces near La Carlota Air Force Base in Caracas, announced an uprising, stating that this was the final phase of "Operation Freedom". Maduro was not seen during the day, but he appeared with his Defense Minister Padrino on that evening's televised broadcast, and announced he would replace
Manuel Cristopher Figuera Manuel Ricardo Cristopher Figuera is the former director of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) and former major general of the Venezuelan army. He is known for being a main conspirator during the failed 2019 Venezuelan uprising ...
, Director General of the
Bolivarian Intelligence Service The Bolivarian National Intelligence Service ( es, Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional, SEBIN) is the premier intelligence agency in Venezuela. SEBIN is an internal security force subordinate to the Vice President of Venezuela since 201 ...
(SEBIN), who had broken with Maduro during the uprising, saying it was time to "rebuild the country" and that "scoundrels were plundering the country." The United States said Maduro had prepared to leave Venezuela that morning, but Russia and Cuba helped convince him to stay. Both Russia and Maduro denied that he had plans to leave Venezuela. Guaidó's supporters were forced to retreat by security forces using tear gas. Colectivos fired on protesters with live ammunition, and one protester was shot in the head and killed.
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...
said it believed that "security forces fired shotgun pellets at demonstrators and journalists." By the end of the day, one protester had died, and López was at the Spanish embassy, while 25 military personnel sought asylum in the Brazilian embassy in Caracas. Guaidó acknowledged he had received insufficient military backing, but added that "Maduro did not have the support nor the respect of the Armed Forces" and called for strikes beginning on 2 May, with the aim of a general strike later in the month. Russia and the US each charged the other with interference in another country's affairs.


Negotiations

Following the failed military uprising, momentum surrounding Guaidó had subsided and fewer supporters gathered at demonstrations, with Guaidó resorting to negotiations with Maduro. Guaidó's deputy chief Rafael Del Rosario acknowledged that the debacle on 30 April made the prospect of removing Maduro more difficult. Beginning negotiations was a setback for Guaidó's movement, with the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...
stating, "Participation in the mediation effort is a reversal for the opposition, which has accused Maduro of using negotiations between 2016 and 2018 to play for time". According to the ''New York Times'', years of difficulties has made Maduro "adept at managing, if not solving, cascading crises", while Phil Gunson of the
International Crisis Group The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a transnational non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, performing research and analysis on global ...
stated that despite facing issues, Maduro "must be very pleased that he is now in the driving seat", with the ability to use the actions of Guaidó and international actors for propaganda purposes. Representatives of Guaidó and Maduro began mediation with the assistance of the Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution (NOREF), with Jorge Rodríguez and Héctor Rodríguez serving as representatives for Maduro while and
Stalin González Iván Stalin González Montaño (born 13 November 1980) is a Venezuelan lawyer and politician. On 26 September 2010 he was elected as deputy of the National Assembly for the fifth electoral district of Caracas, he presided the Administration and ...
were representatives for Guaidó. Guaidó confirmed that there was an envoy in Norway, but assured that the opposition would not take part in "any kind of false negotiation" and that talks must lead to Maduro's resignation, a transitional administration and free and fair elections. In July 2019, Norway's commission carried out a third round of discussions between Guaidó's and Maduro's representatives in
Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estima ...
. By August 2019, the Maduro administration decided to halt talks with Guaidó's commission after Trump administration imposed new additional sanctions on Venezuela, ordering a freeze on all Venezuelan government assets in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
and barred transactions with US citizens and companies.


Second visit of the OHCHR

Ahead of a three-week session of the
UN Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis ...
, the OHCHR chief,
Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2018 to 2022. She previously served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and 2014 to 201 ...
, visited Venezuela from 19 to 21 June. The Human Rights Commissioner met separately with both Maduro and Guaidó during her visit, as well as with Maduro's Attorney General
Tarek William Saab Tarek William Saab Halabi (, ar, طارق وليام صعب حلبي; born 10 September 1962) is a Venezuelan politician, lawyer and poet. He is a leader of the Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) party founded by Hugo Chávez, President of Venezuela ...
, several human right activists, and families of victims who experienced torture and state repression. Protests occurred in front of the UN office in Caracas during the last day of the visit, denouncing rights abuses carried out by Maduro's administration.
Gilber Caro Gilber Caro (born 30 January 1974) is a Venezuelan politician, activist and thrice political prisoner. Early life Caro grew up in Catia, Caracas, Catia, a poor area of Venezuelan capital Caracas, with many siblings. At a young age, one of his b ...
, who was released two days before the visit, joined the protest. Bachelet announced the creation of a delegation maintained by two UN officials that will remain in Venezuela to monitor the humanitarian situation. Bachelet expressed concern that the recent sanctions on oil exports and gold trade could worsen the crisis that has increased since 2013, calling the measures “extremely broad” and that they are capable of exacerbating the suffering of the Venezuelan people. She also called for the release of political prisoners in Venezuela. This was the first time a
United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nati ...
visited Venezuela. The final published report addressed the extrajudicial executions, torture,
forced disappearance An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organi ...
s and other human rights violations reportedly committed by Venezuelan security forces in the recent years. Bachelet expressed her concerns for the "shockingly high" number of extrajudicial killings and urged for the dissolution of the
Special Action Forces The Special Action Forces ( es, Fuerzas de Acciones Especiales de la Policía Nacional Bolivariana, FAES) is an elite command of the Venezuelan National Police created in April 2016.
(FAES). According to the report, 1,569 cases of executions as consequence as a result of "resistance to authority" were registered by the Venezuelan authorities from 1 January to 19 March. Other 52 deaths that occurred during 2019 protests were attributed to colectivos. The report also details how the Venezuelan government "aimed at neutralising, repressing and criminalising political opponents and people critical of the government" since 2016. Guaidó supported the investigation, stating "the systematic violation of human rights, the repression, the torture... is clearly identified in the (UN) report". Maduro administration described the report as a "biased vision" and demanded it be "corrected". In the words of his foreign minister, "It’s a text lacking in scientific rigor, with serious errors in methodology and which seems like a carbon copy of previous reports". Maduro would later state that the OHCHR "has declared itself an enemy" to Maduro and the Bolivarian Revolution. Speaking to reporters after the UN Human Rights Council, Bachelet announced the release of 22 Venezuelan prisoners, including 20 students, judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni, in her second house arrest since March, and journalist
Braulio Jatar Braulio Jatar is a Chilean-Venezuelan lawyer and journalist, director of the ''Reporte Confidencial'' website, and political prisoner. Career In addition to being a journalist, Jatar has served as a lawyer and political activist. He worked clos ...
, arrested in 2016. Bachelet welcomed the conditional releases and the acceptance of the two officers delegation as "the beginning of positive engagement on the country’s many human rights issues". In October 2019, Venezuela competed for one of the two seats to the
United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...
, along with Brazil and Costa Rica, and was elected with 105 votes in a secret ballot by the 193-member
United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
. Brazil was re-elected with 153 votes, while Costa Rica was not having garnered 96 votes and entering the month of the election as competition to Venezuela. The United States,
Lima Group The Lima Group (GL; Spanish and pt, links=yes, Grupo de Lima, French: Groupe de Lima) is a multilateral body that was established following the Lima Declaration on 8 August 2017 in the Peruvian capital of Lima, where representatives of 12 cou ...
and human rights groups lobbied against Venezuela's election. On 16 September 2020, the United Nations accused the Maduro government of
crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...
.


Torture and death of Acosta Arévalo

On 26 June, Maduro said that his government had arrested several defecting military, thus foiling a plot to remove him from power and to assassinate him, his wife and
Diosdado Cabello Diosdado Cabello Rondón (born 15 April 1963Vicepresidencia de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela also drug lord of Venezuela , atentamente alcardonDiosdado Cabello Rondón, accessed 19 April 2010) is a Venezuelan politician and current mem ...
. The alleged plan also included the rescue of
Raúl Baduel Raúl Isaías Baduel (6 July 1955 – 12 October 2021) was a Venezuelan politician, general, and defense minister under President Hugo Chávez. He was a member of Chavez' MBR-200, joining in December 1982. Career Military Baduel was instrument ...
, a retired general imprisoned for a second time in 2017, to install him as president. Maduro accused Israel, Colombia, Chile and the United States of involvement in the plot. Jorge Rodríguez said that the foiled plan involved the bombing of a government building, the seizing of La Carlota air base, and a bank robbery. Guaidó dismissed the allegations as lies; opposition members have frequently accused Maduro of coercion of arrested suspects and fabrication of plots for political gain. In the wake of the coup allegations, an alleged kidnapping attempt directed at members of Guaidó's entourage occurred on a Caracas highway. Eight armed men on motorcycles dressed as civilians allegedly surrounded a vehicle containing two of Guaidó's aides. Guaidó, who was in a car further ahead, spoke with the armed civilians, according to photos and a video released by his press team and published by ''
Infobae Infobae is an online newspaper based in Miami, Florida in the United States. It was launched in 2002 by businessman Daniel Hadad, with the original headquarters in Buenos Aires. Infobae has 450 staff journalists and over a thousand stringers. ...
''. According to Guaidó, the group received orders from the Venezuelan Military Counter-intelligence agency DGCIM, but were not "hostile". Navy captain Rafael Acosta Arévalo, who had been arrested on charges related to the alleged foiled coup attempt and transferred to a military hospital, died during detention on 28 June. Maduro administration did not provide a cause of death but announced an investigation on the matter. Acosta Arevalo's wife, human rights advocates, Juan Guaidó and the
US Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nat ...
accused Maduro's administration of torturing the captain to death. The Lima Group and the European Union called for an independent investigation. The preliminary autopsy determined that Acosta Arévalo's cause of death was "severe
cerebral edema Cerebral edema is excess accumulation of fluid ( edema) in the intracellular or extracellular spaces of the brain. This typically causes impaired nerve function, increased pressure within the skull, and can eventually lead to direct compres ...
rain swelling Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water fo ...
caused by acute
respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a rise ...
caused by a
pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream ( embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include shortness of breath, chest pain particularly upon breathin ...
caused by
rhabdomyolysis Rhabdomyolysis (also called rhabdo) is a condition in which damaged skeletal muscle breaks down rapidly. Symptoms may include muscle pains, weakness, vomiting, and confusion. There may be tea-colored urine or an irregular heartbeat. Some of ...
potentially life-threatening breakdown of muscle fibersby multiple trauma".


Operación Alacrán

An investigation led by Armando.info reported that nine members of the National Assembly defended individuals sanctioned by the United States for their involvement in the controversial Local Committees for Supply and Production (CLAP) program. The investigation reported that the implicated lawmakers had written letters of support to the
United States Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
and others to a Colombian man named Carlos Lizcano, who authorities were investigating over his possible links to
Alex Saab Alex Nain Saab Morán ( ar, أليكس صعب; born 21 December 1971) is a Colombian businessman. Saab was the subject of journalistic investigations for conducting businesses estimated at US$135 million with the Venezuelan government, while othe ...
, a Colombian businessman associated with the food distribution program and under United States sanctions. According to Armando.info, the lawmakers wrote the letters despite being aware of evidence that tied Lizcano to Saab. Guaidó condemned the actions of the nine legislators, suspending them from their positions and stating that it was "unacceptable to use a state institution to attempt to whitewash the reputation of thieves". The scandal damaged Guaidó's reputation among his supporters in
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
, with some members of the opposition beginning to call for new leadership, according to analysts and those involved. The Maduro government increased its pressure by "deploying bribes, intimidation and repression" attempting to divide the opposition to maintain power.


Dollarization

Following increased sanctions throughout 2019, the Maduro government abandoned policies established by Chávez such as price and currency controls. In a November 2019 interview with
José Vicente Rangel José Vicente Rangel Vale (10 July 1929 – 18 December 2020) was a Venezuelan politician and journalist. He ran for president three times in the 1970s and 1980s and later supported Hugo Chávez. He served under Chávez as Minister of Foreign ...
, President Maduro described
dollarization Currency substitution is the use of a foreign currency in parallel to or instead of a domestic currency. The process is also known as dollarization or euroization when the foreign currency is the dollar or the euro, respectively. Currency subs ...
as an "escape valve" that helps the recovery of the country, the spread of productive forces in the country and the economy. However, Maduro said that the
Venezuelan bolívar The bolívar is the official currency of Venezuela. Named after the hero of Latin American independence Simón Bolívar, it was introduced following the monetary reform in 1879, before which the venezolano was circulating. Due to its decade- ...
would still remain as the national currency. ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...
'' wrote that Venezuela had also obtained "extra money from selling gold, both from illegal mines and from its reserves, and narcotics". Its article continued to explain that the improving economy led to more difficulties for Guaidó as Venezuelans who had a better situation were less likely to protest against Maduro.


2020 events


Internal parliamentary election disrupted

The
2020 Venezuelan National Assembly Delegated Committee election The 2020 Venezuelan National Assembly Delegated Committee election was to be held in the ordinary session of the National Assembly on 5 January, in which 160 deputies were to elect the legislature's board of directors for the year 2020–21: the pr ...
of 5 January, to elect the Board of Directors of the National Assembly was disrupted. The events resulted in two competing claims for the Presidency of the National Assembly: one by
Luis Parra Luis Eduardo Parra Rivero (born 7 July 1978) is a Venezuelan politician who was in a dispute with Juan Guaidó for a year over who was the President of the National Assembly of Venezuela based on a vote on 5 January 2020. The investigative jou ...
and one by Juan Guaidó. Parra was formerly a member of
Justice First The Justice First ( es, Primero Justicia) is a centre-right political party in Venezuela. Founded in 1992 as a civil association, it became a political party in 2000. Henrique Capriles was the candidate of the party in 2013 general election. ...
, but was expelled from the party on 20 December 2019 based on the Operación Alacrán corruption allegations, which he denied. From inside the legislature, Parra declared himself president of the National Assembly, a move that was welcomed by the Maduro administration. The opposition disputed this outcome, saying that quorum had not been achieved and that no votes were counted. Police forces had blocked access to parliament to some opposition members, including Guaidó and journalists. Later in the day, a separate session was carried out at the headquarters of '' El Nacional'' newspaper, where 100 of the 167 deputies voted to re-elect Guaidó as president of the parliament. Guaidó was sworn in a session on 7 January after forcing his way in through police barricades. On the same day, Parra reiterated his claim to the parliament's presidency.
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
is the only foreign government to have officially recognized Luis Parra's investiture, while the European Union, the United States, Canada, and most Latin American countries recognized Guaido's re-election.


Guaidó second international tour

On 19 January, Guaidó once again exited Venezuela and arrived in Colombia, planning to meet with
Mike Pompeo Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served under President Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2017 to 2018 and as the 70th United State ...
, as well as traveling to Europe and the United States later, defying his exit prohibition for a second time. Guaidó travelled to
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
,
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
, and on 22 January met with
Margaritis Schinas Margaritis Schinas (Greek: Μαργαρίτης Σχοινάς; ; born 28 July 1962) is a Greek politician and former civil servant. He took office in December 2019 as a vice-president in the Von der Leyen Commission with the portfolio of European ...
,
Vice-President of the European Commission A Vice-President of the European Commission is a member of the European Commission who leads the commission's work in particular focus areas in which multiple European Commissioners participate. Currently, the European Commission has a total of ...
, and
Josep Borrell Josep Borrell Fontelles (; born 24 April 1947) is a Spanish politician serving as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy since 1 December 2019. A member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), he served ...
, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs. On 23 January, Guaidó participated in the
World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...
in
Davos , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Bergün/Bravuogn, Klosters-Serneus, Langwies, S-chanf, Susch , twintowns = } Davos (, ; or ; rm, ; archaic it, Tavate) is an Alps, Alpine resort town and a Municipalities of Switzerland, muni ...
,
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. During his trip in Europe, Guaidó also met with
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as ...
,
Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...
, and
Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Opp ...
. Afterwards, Guaidó travelled to Canada and met with Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since ...
. On February 4, he was invited to President Donald Trump's 2020
State of the Union The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of each calendar year on the current condit ...
address to Congress, and was applauded by the crowd, which was composed of members of both Democratic and
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
parties.
Diosdado Cabello Diosdado Cabello Rondón (born 15 April 1963Vicepresidencia de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela also drug lord of Venezuela , atentamente alcardonDiosdado Cabello Rondón, accessed 19 April 2010) is a Venezuelan politician and current mem ...
declared that "nothing" would happen to Guaidó when he returned to Venezuela. After meeting with Donald Trump in the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
, Constituent Assembly member
Pedro Carreño Pedro Miguel Carreño Escobar is a Venezuelan politician and lawyer. Carreño has served multiple roles within the Bolivarian Government of Venezuela during the presidencies of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro. Career Military career Carreño b ...
said that if Guaidó wanted to come back as "commander-in-chief", "we will receive him with this '' peinilla''", hitting his podium with a
machete Older machete from Latin America Gerber machete/saw combo Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca">San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San ...
. Guaidó was allowed back into Venezuela by officials through Simón Bolívar International Airport on 12 February, despite the travel ban imposed by Maduro's government. Security forces installed an anti-aircraft gun in the
Caracas-La Guaira highway The Caracas–La Guaira highway is a highway that connects Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, to its principal port city of La Guaira, capital of the Vargas state. It was designed as an alternative to the old highway linking Caracas with La Guair ...
and blocked the highway; opposition deputies had to reach the airport on foot to receive Guaidó. Due to the block, several ambassadors were also unable to go to the airport. Upon Guaidó's arrival at the Simón Bolívar International Airport, around two hundred Maduro supporters surrounded and jostled Guaidó, his wife
Fabiana Rosales Fabiana Andreina Rosales Guerrero (born 22 April 1992) also known as Fabiana Rosales de Guaidó Husband's name also aC-Span Family and education Fabiana Andreína Rosales Guerrero was born on 22 April 1992 in the town of Tovar Municipality, ...
and several opposition deputies that waited for him at the airport. Some journalists were also attacked and had their equipment stolen by the group. Tens of military and police officials were present and did not intervene to prevent the attack. Several passengers declared to local outlets that Maduro's administration sent a group of pro-government activists to insult and harass the opposition members with impunity, including employees of the recently sanctioned
Conviasa Línea Aérea Conviasa (legally ''Consorcio Venezolano de Industrias Aeronáuticas y Servicios Aéreos'') is a Venezuelan airline with its headquarters on the grounds of Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, Venezuela, near Carac ...
airline. The
Inter American Press Association The Inter American Press Association (IAPA; Spanish: ''Sociedad Interamericana de Prensa'', SIP) is a press advocacy group representing major media organizations in North America, South America and the Caribbean. It is made up of more than 1,300 ...
condemned the attacks on the journalists. The following day, the opposition and relatives denounced that Guaidó's uncle, Juan José Márquez, had been missing for 24 hours after receiving his nephew in the airport, blaming Maduro's government. His wife declared that Márquez was detained in the migration area and that his whereabouts were unknown. Afterwards, in his television talk show '' Con El Mazo Dando'', Diosdado Cabello accused Márquez of carrying explosives when he landed in Venezuela. Hours later, a court formalized Márquez's detention, copying Cabello's accusations. Márquez was detained in the Caracas headquarters of the
Directorate General of Military Counterintelligence The General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence ( es, Dirección General de Contrainteligencia Militar, DGCIM) is the military counterintelligence agency of Venezuela, whose function is to prevent intelligence or espionage internally and ...
, despite him being a civilian.


Barquisimeto shooting

On 29 February Juan Guaidó mobilized a march against the government of Nicolás Maduro in the Juan de Villegas parish,
Barquisimeto Barquisimeto (; guc, Watkisimeeta) is a city in Venezuela. It is the capital of the state of Lara and head of Iribarren Municipality. It is an important urban, industrial, commercial and transportation center of the country, recognized as the f ...
,
Lara state Lara State ( es, Estado Lara, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Barquisimeto. Lara State covers a total surface area of and, in 2015, had a census population of 2,019,211. Toponymy The state is named after a notable ...
. The day of the march, pro-government colectivos shot at Guaidó, who was in a van at the time of the shooting. Bolivarian National Intelligence Service agents were also reported of having participated in the attack. Guaidó's vehicle received nine gunshots and the shooting left a total of ten wounded.


COVID-19 pandemic

The
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
was confirmed to have spread to Venezuela on 13 March, when the Maduro administration announced the first two cases. On 16 March, Maduro reversed the country's official position against the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
(IMF), asking the institution for US$5 billion to combat the pandemic, a first during Maduro's presidency, being a critic of the institution. The IMF rejected the deal as it was not clear, among its member states, on who it recognizes as Venezuela's president. According to a report by ''Bloomberg'', the Maduro administration also tried to request aid of $1 billion from the IMF after the first request was denied. Guaidó called for the creation of a "national emergency government", not led by Maduro, on 28 March. According to Guaidó, a loan of US$1.2 billion was ready to be given in support of a power-sharing coalition between pro-Maduro officials, the military and the opposition in order to fight the pandemic in Venezuela. If accepted, the money would go to assist families affected by the disease and its economic consequences.


US Department of Justice indictment

On 26 March, the
US Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nat ...
offered $15 million on Nicolás Maduro, and $10 million each on
Diosdado Cabello Diosdado Cabello Rondón (born 15 April 1963Vicepresidencia de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela also drug lord of Venezuela , atentamente alcardonDiosdado Cabello Rondón, accessed 19 April 2010) is a Venezuelan politician and current mem ...
,
Hugo Carvajal Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios, nicknamed ''El Pollo'' ("The Chicken") (born 1960), is a Venezuelan diplomat and retired general. He was the head of the military intelligence in Venezuela during Hugo Chávez's government, from July 2004 to Dec ...
,
Clíver Alcalá Cordones Cliver Antonio Alcalá Cordones (born 21 November 1961), is a retired Venezuelan major general and a member of the Bolivarian Army. Clíver Alcalá was one of the soldiers who participated in the attempted coup d'état against President Carlos An ...
and
Tareck El Aissami Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah (; ar, طارق زيدان العيسمي مداح; born 12 November 1974) is a Venezuelan politician serving as Minister of Industries and National Production since 14 June 2018, and as Minister of Petroleum sin ...
, for information leading to their arrest in relation to charges of
drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalati ...
and
narco-terrorism Narcoterrorism, in its original context, is understood to refer to the attempts of narcotics traffickers to influence the policies of a government or a society through violence and intimidation, and to hinder the enforcement of anti-drug laws by t ...
. Maduro had been offering to hold talks with the opposition about handling the outbreak in the country shortly before the indictment and then called them off. After being indicted, retired general Clíver Alcalá in Colombia published a video claiming responsibility for a stockpile of weapons and military equipment seized in Colombia. According to Alcalá, he had made a contract with Guaidó and "American advisers" in order to buy weapons to remove Maduro. Alcalá did not present any evidence and Guaidó rejected the allegations. After wishing farewell to his family, Alcalá surrendered to US authorities on 27 March.


Transitional government proposals

On 31 March, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that sanctions did not apply to humanitarian aid during the
COVID-19 pandemic in Venezuela The COVID-19 pandemic in Venezuela is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first two cases in Venezuela were confirmed on 13 March 2020; the fi ...
and that the US would lift all sanctions if Maduro agreed to organize elections that did not include himself in a period of six to twelve months. Pompeo reiterated US support for Juan Guaidó. The US proposed a transitional government that would exclude both Maduro and Guaidó from the presidency. The deal would enforce a power-sharing scenario between the different government factions. Elections would have to be held within the year, and all foreign militaries, particularly Cuba and Russia, would have to leave the country. The US were still seeking Maduro's arrest at the time of the announcement. Other aspects of the US deal would include releasing all political prisoners and setting up a five-person council to lead the country; two members each chosen by Maduro and Guaidó would sit on the council, with the last member selected by the four. The European Union also agreed to remove sanctions if the deal went ahead. Experts have noted that the deal is similar to earlier proposals but explicitly mentions who would lead a transitional government, something which stalled previous discussions, and comes shortly after the US indicted Maduro, which might pressure him to peacefully leave power. Guaidó accepted the proposal while Venezuela's foreign minister
Jorge Arreaza Jorge Alberto Arreaza Montserrat (Venezuelan ; born 6 June 1973) is a Venezuelan politician who has held several important positions in the administration of President Hugo Chávez and his successor Nicolás Maduro. From August 2017 to August 2 ...
rejected it and declared that only parliamentary elections would take place in 2020. Arreaza said that "decisions about Venezuela would be made in Caracas and not in Washington or other capitals" and that "the most important transition for Venezuela was the one started many years ago from capitalism to socialism." After various members of Guaidó's team were arrested on 30 March, Guaidó denounced a new wave of attacks against him. Following that, Attorney General
Tarek William Saab Tarek William Saab Halabi (, ar, طارق وليام صعب حلبي; born 10 September 1962) is a Venezuelan politician, lawyer and poet. He is a leader of the Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) party founded by Hugo Chávez, President of Venezuela ...
called Juan Guaidó to appear before the Public Ministry on 2 April based on Alcalá's accusations. Guaidó did not accept to appear before the public prosecutor. The day of the citation, two more members of Guaidó's office were arrested, charged for alleged "attempted coup d'etat" and "magnicide." Guaidó's team reported that "With this new assault by the dictatorship, there are now 10 f itsmembers that have been detained by security forces. Five of them in the last 72 hours."
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...
reported that during the pandemic allies of both
Nicolás Maduro Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and president of Venezuela since 2013, with his presidency under dispute since 2019. Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade union ...
and
Juan Guaidó Juan Gerardo Guaidó Márquez (born 28 July 1983) is a Venezuelan politician, a former member of the social-democratic Popular Will party, and federal deputy to the National Assembly representing the state of Vargas. On 23 January 2019, Guaid� ...
had secretly begun exploratory talks, according to sources on both sides. Guaidó and US Special Representative for
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
Elliott Abrams Elliott Abrams (born January 24, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer, who has served in foreign policy positions for presidents Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump. Abrams is considered to be a neoconservative. He is curren ...
have denied that negotiations have taken place. The
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...
reported that the National Assembly agreed to establish a monthly $5,000 salary for the lawmakers funded from an $80 million "Liberation Fund" made up of Venezuelan assets seized by the Trump administration. Guaidó's communications team issued a statement denying that such salary had been approved, saying that lawmakers have gone unpaid since Maduro cut off funding after the opposition won the legislature in 2015 and that the deputies would determine an appropriate, as well as communicating it transparently. It also said that the $14 million in funding destined for the National Assembly would cover not only the deputies' personal income, but also office expenses, staff costs, travel and other related legislative expenses.


Operation Gideon

Eight former Venezuelan soldiers were killed and seventeen rebels were captured on 3 May, including two American security contractors, after approximately 60 men landed in Macuto and tried to invade Venezuela. The members of the naval attack force were employed as private military contractors by Silvercorp USA and the operation aimed to depose Maduro from power.


Parliamentary election

The opposition parties that make up the
Democratic Unity Roundtable The Democratic Unity Roundtable ( es, Mesa de la Unidad Democrática, MUD) was a catch-all electoral coalition of Venezuelan political parties formed in January 2008 to unify the opposition to President Hugo Chávez's United Socialist Party of ...
coalition agreed unanimously not to participate in the election, stating the reason as irregularities and their complaints during the planning of the process and arguing that it was likely the election would be fraudulent. Twenty-seven political parties signed the agreement, including the four largest opposition parties
Popular Will Popular Will ( es, Voluntad Popular, abbr. VP) is a political party in Venezuela founded by former Mayor of Chacao, Leopoldo López, who is its national co-ordinator. The party describes itself as progressive and social-democratic and was adm ...
,
Justice First The Justice First ( es, Primero Justicia) is a centre-right political party in Venezuela. Founded in 1992 as a civil association, it became a political party in 2000. Henrique Capriles was the candidate of the party in 2013 general election. ...
, Democratic Action and
A New Era A New Era ( es, Un Nuevo Tiempo, UNT) is a centre-left political party in Venezuela. It received 11% of the vote in the 2008 regional elections. The party arose in Zulia State, Venezuela's most populous, and remains far stronger in its home r ...
. The opposition criticized the appointment of the members of the National Electoral Council by the Supreme Tribunal, stating that it is under the purview of the National Assembly, and at least seven political parties had their board of directors suspended or replaced by the pro-government Supreme Tribunal of Justice, including Popular Will, Justice First, Democratic Action, and Copei, as well as left-wing political parties, including Tupamaro,
Fatherland for All Fatherland for All (''Patria Para Todos'', PPT) is a leftist political party in Venezuela. It was founded on September 27, 1997 by members of The Radical Cause party led by Pablo Medina, Aristóbulo Istúriz and Alí Rodríguez Araque. In 19 ...
, and Red Flag. Opposition politicians
Henrique Capriles Henrique Capriles Radonski (; born 11 July 1972) is a Venezuelan politician and lawyer, who served as the 36th Governor of Miranda from 2008 to 2017. Born in Caracas, he received a degree in law from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, ...
and
Stalin González Iván Stalin González Montaño (born 13 November 1980) is a Venezuelan lawyer and politician. On 26 September 2010 he was elected as deputy of the National Assembly for the fifth electoral district of Caracas, he presided the Administration and ...
initially encouraged participation in the elections. They later withdrew and demanded better electoral conditions. The
Lima Group The Lima Group (GL; Spanish and pt, links=yes, Grupo de Lima, French: Groupe de Lima) is a multilateral body that was established following the Lima Declaration on 8 August 2017 in the Peruvian capital of Lima, where representatives of 12 cou ...
, the
International Contact Group International Contact Groups are "informal, non-permanent international bodies that are created ad hoc, with the purpose of coordinating international actors in their aim of managing a peace and security crisis in a specific state or region (single- ...
, the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
rejected holding parliamentary elections in 2020, insisting in the necessity of holding elections "with free and fair conditions." The International Contact Group, headed by Uruguay, stated the formation of the Electoral Council "undermines the credibility of the next electoral process." The
Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 Apri ...
(OAS) stated the appointment of the Electoral Council was "illegal", rejecting it, and further stated that independent bodies are needed for "transparent, free and fair" elections to take place in the country. In July, the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nat ...
, headed by
Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2018 to 2022. She previously served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and 2014 to 201 ...
, said that "the recent decisions of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice diminish the possibility to build conditions for democratic and credible electoral processes" and "appoint new National Electoral Council rectors without the consensus of all the political forces."


2021 events

As a response to the position of the
Popular Will Popular Will ( es, Voluntad Popular, abbr. VP) is a political party in Venezuela founded by former Mayor of Chacao, Leopoldo López, who is its national co-ordinator. The party describes itself as progressive and social-democratic and was adm ...
party of focusing on a timetable for presidential, parliamentary and regional elections,
Leopoldo López Leopoldo Eduardo López Mendoza (born 29 April 1971) is a Venezuelan opposition leader. He co-founded the political party Primero Justicia in 2000 with Henrique Capriles and Julio Borges and was elected mayor of the Chacao Municipality of Caraca ...
said that "telling us from Europe that we are maximalist because we want freedom is a colonialist comment  ..��that we should renounce our dream of freedom when you already have it.” On 5 August 2021, Mexican President
Andrés Manuel López Obrador Andrés Manuel López Obrador (; born 13 November 1953), also known by his initials AMLO, is a Mexican politician who has been serving as the 65th president of Mexico since 1 December 2018. He previously served as Head of Government of Mex ...
announced that Mexico would host talks between the Maduro government and the political opposition.


2022 events

On 11 June 2022, pro-government followers attacked Guaidó after an opposition march in San Carlos,
Cojedes state , anthem = '' Himno del Estado Cojedes'' , image_map = Cojedes in Venezuela.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location within Venezuela , pushpin_map = , pushpin_map_alt ...
, throwing objects at him and violently removing him from the restaurant he was holding a meeting in. Nosliw Rodríguez, former PSUV deputy and candidate for the Cojedes governorship, was identified as one of the people that led the attack against Guaidó.


Recognition, reactions, and public opinion

As of October 2020, Guaidó is recognized as the interim president of Venezuela by 57 countries, "including the US, Canada and most Latin American and European countries". Other countries are divided between a neutral position, support for the National Assembly in general without endorsing Guaidó, and support for Maduro's presidency; internationally, support has followed traditional geopolitical lines, with Russia, China, Iran, Syria, Cuba, and Turkey supporting Maduro, and the US, Canada, and most of Western Europe supporting Guaidó. The
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...
recognized Guaidó as interim president. The
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
unanimously recognized the National Assembly, but Italy dissented on recognizing Guaidó. The OAS approved a resolution on 10 January 2019 "to not recognize the legitimacy of Nicolas Maduro's new term". In a 24 January special OAS session, sixteen countries including the US recognized Guaidó as interim president, but they did not achieve the majority needed for a resolution. The United Nations called for dialogue and deescalation of tension, but could not agree on any other path for resolving the crisis. Twelve of the fourteen members of the
Lima Group The Lima Group (GL; Spanish and pt, links=yes, Grupo de Lima, French: Groupe de Lima) is a multilateral body that was established following the Lima Declaration on 8 August 2017 in the Peruvian capital of Lima, where representatives of 12 cou ...
recognize Guaidó;
Beatriz Becerra Beatriz Becerra Basterrechea (born 14 November 1966) is a Spanish writer and politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament from 2014 until 2019. In parliament, Becerra served as vice-chair of the European Parliament Subcommittee o ...
—on the day after she retired as head of the human rights subcommittee for the European Parliament—said that the
International Contact Group International Contact Groups are "informal, non-permanent international bodies that are created ad hoc, with the purpose of coordinating international actors in their aim of managing a peace and security crisis in a specific state or region (single- ...
, jointly sponsored by Uruguay and Mexico, had been of no use and "has been an artifact that has served no purpose since it was created". She said there had been no progress on the 90-day deadline for elections that the group established when it was formed, and she considered that the Contact Group should be terminated and efforts coordinated through the Lima Group. During the 49th
General Assembly of the Organization of American States The General Assembly is the supreme decision-making body of the Organization of American States (OAS). The General Assembly came into being as a part of the restructuring of the OAS that took place following adoption of the Protocol of Buenos Ai ...
, on 27 June, Guaidó's presidency was recognized by the organization. The Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflictivity stated that there were on average 69 protests daily in Venezuela during the first three months of 2019, for a total of 6,211 protests, representing a significant increase over previous years (157% of protests for the same period in 2018, and 395% relative to the number in 2017). Following the failed uprising on 30 April, support for Guaidó declined, attendance to his demonstrations subsided and participants in committees organized by Guaidó stated that there has been little progress. * * ''Reuters'' reported in June that analysts have predicted that Maduro would maintain his position as he gains confidence that his actions against the opposition go "relatively unpunished". By the end of 2019, support for Guaidó dropped, with protests organized by his movement resulting with low participation. Pollster Datanálisis published figures showing that support for Guaidó decreased from 61% in February to 42% in November 2019. According to Jesús Seguías, the head of the Venezuelan analysis firm Datincorp, "For years Washington and the Venezuelan opposition have said that Nicolás Maduro, and before him Hugo Chávez, were weak and about to fall ..but it’s clear that’s not the case". Analyst Carlos Pina stated that as " e military support to President Maduro remains intact", the opposition will need to "rethink its strategy" and that "Guaido has also been very limited in suggesting or proposing a strategy that could change the current tatus quo" Into December 2019, Venezuelan pollster Meganálisis surveys showed that 10% of respondents approved of Guaidó, compared to 9% who supported Maduro.


Defections

The ''Miami Herald'' reported that dozens of arrests were made in anticipation of a military uprising, and Defense Minister
Vladimir Padrino López Vladímir Padrino López (born 30 May 1963) is a Venezuelan four-star general serving as the current Minister of Defense for the National Armed Forces of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela since 24 October 2014. Military career On 5 July 19 ...
ordered a counterintelligence effort to locate conspirators or possible defectors. According to ''France 24'', Maduro declared "military deserters who fled to Colombia have become mercenaries" as part of a "US-backed coup". Guaidó declared that the opposition had held secret meetings with military officials to discuss the
Amnesty Law An Amnesty law is any legislative, constitutional or executive arrangement that retroactively exempts a select group of people, usually military leaders and government leaders, from criminal liability for the crimes that they committed. More speci ...
.
Hugo Carvajal Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios, nicknamed ''El Pollo'' ("The Chicken") (born 1960), is a Venezuelan diplomat and retired general. He was the head of the military intelligence in Venezuela during Hugo Chávez's government, from July 2004 to Dec ...
, the head of Venezuela's military intelligence for ten years during
Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...
's presidency and "one of the government's most prominent figures", Als
available online.
/ref> publicly broke with Maduro and endorsed Guaidó as acting president. Also availabl
online.
/ref> During the 30 April 2019 uprising attempt, Manuel Cristopher Figuera, the Director General of Venezuela's National Intelligence Service,
SEBIN The Bolivarian National Intelligence Service ( es, Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional, SEBIN) is the premier intelligence agency in Venezuela. SEBIN is an internal security force subordinate to the Vice President of Venezuela since 201 ...
, broke with Maduro. Certain top military figures recognized Guaidó,
*
and around 1,400 military personnel have defected to Colombia, but the top military command stays loyal to the government. Following the 23 January events, some Venezuelan diplomats in the United States supported Guaidó; the majority returned to Venezuela on Maduro's orders.


Foreign military involvement

In early 2019, with Cuban and Russian-backed security forces in the country, United States military involvement became the subject of speculation. Senior U.S. officials have declared that "all options are on the table", but they have also said that "our objective is a peaceful transfer of power". Colombian guerrillas from National Liberation Army (ELN) have vowed to defend Maduro, with ELN leaders in Cuba stating that they have been drafting plans to provide military assistance to Maduro. Article 187 of the Venezuelan Constitution provides that " shall be the function of the National Assembly: (11) To authorize the operation of Venezuelan military missions abroad or foreign military missions within the country." In every demonstration summoned by Guaidó, there have been numerous signs demanding the application of Article 187, and a March poll showed 87.5% support for foreign intervention. Venezuelan politicians such
María Corina Machado María Corina Machado Parisca (born 7 October 1967, Machado, María CorinaMi experiencia. Es ahora. María Corina. Accessed 25 April 2010. sometimes referred to as MCM) is a Venezuelan politician who served as an elected member of the National ...
and Antonio Ledezma, former mayor of Caracas, have also demanded the application of the article. According to Giancarlo Fiorella, writing in ''
Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy a ...
'', the "loudest calls for intervention are coming not from the White House and its media mouthpieces but from some members of the Venezuelan opposition and from residents of the country desperate for a solution—any solution—to their years-long plight." Fiorella states that "talk of invoking article 187(11) has become commonplace" in Venezuela, adding that "the push for a military intervention in Venezuela is most intense not among hawks in Washington but inside the country itself." Guaidó has said he would call for intervention "when the time comes", but in media interviews, he has not stated he supports removing Maduro by force. The National Assembly approved in July 2019 the reincorporation of Venezuela to the
Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance The Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (commonly known as the Rio Treaty, the Rio Pact, the Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, or by the Spanish-language acronym TIAR from ''Tratado Interamericano de Asistencia Recíproca'') is an agree ...
, a mutual defense pact signed in 1947 that has never been enacted and from which Venezuela retired in 2013. Venezuela's reincorporation to the pact "can be used to request military assistance against foreign troops inside the country." In a 4 December 2019 interview with Vox, Guaidó stated: "We sense a firm commitment from the United States. ..I think they’re doing everything they could be doing under these circumstances, as are Colombia and Brazil." When asked if he was nearer from removing Maduro from power than in January 2019, Guaidó replied: "Absolutely. Back then we didn’t have multiple countries recognizing and supporting us. ..Today, we have way more tools at our disposal than we did one year ago."
Bloomberg News Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg T ...
reported two days later that the
Trump administration Donald Trump's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 45th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Donald Trump, his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican Party ...
began to doubt that an opposition led by Guaidó would remove Maduro from office. The United States reportedly had no military option regarding Venezuela, although it began to debate on whether to partner with Russia to encourage Maduro to leave office or to increase pressure on Cuba, which is the Maduro government's main supporter.


Cuban presence

According to professor Erick Langer of
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...
, "Cuba and Russia have already intervened." A Cuban military presence of at least 15,000 personnel was in Venezuela in early 2018, while estimates ranging from hundreds to thousands of Cuban security forces were reported in 2019. In April 2019, Trump threatened a "full and complete embargo, together with highest-level sanctions" on Cuba if its troops do not cease operations in Venezuela.


Russian presence

Two nuclear weapon-capable Russian planes landed in Venezuela in December 2018 in what Reuters called a "show of support for Maduro's socialist government." According to the Kremlin, there are about 100 Russian military personnel in Venezuela "to repair equipment and provide technical co-operation". On 23 March 2019, two Russian planes landed in Venezuela carrying 99 troops and 35 tonnes of
matériel Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context. In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the specif ...
. Alexey Seredin from the Russian Embassy in Caracas said the two planes were "part of an effort to maintain Maduro's defense apparatus, which includes
Sukhoi The JSC Sukhoi Company (russian: ПАО «Компания „Сухой“», ) is a Russian aircraft manufacturer (formerly Soviet), headquartered in Begovoy District, Northern Administrative Okrug, Moscow, that designs both civilian and mili ...
fighter jets and anti-aircraft systems purchased from Russia." National Assembly deputy Williams Dávila said the National Assembly would investigate the "penetration of foreign forces in Venezuela."


Assets and reserves

Venezuela's third-largest export (after crude oil and refined petroleum products) is gold. The
World Gold Council The World Gold Council is the market development organisation for the gold industry. It works across all parts of the industry, from gold mining to investment, with the aim of stimulating and sustaining demand for gold. They frequently publish ...
reported in January 2019 that Venezuela's foreign-held gold reserves had fallen by 69% to US$8.4 billion during Maduro's presidency. In 2018, Maduro's government exported $900 million worth of gold out of Venezuela into Erdoğan's Turkey. In April 2019, Rubio warned the United Arab Emirates and Turkey not be "accomplices" in the "outrageous crime" of exporting Venezuela's gold. In mid-December 2018, a Venezuelan delegation went to London to arrange for the
Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government o ...
to return the $1.2 billion in gold bullion that Venezuela stores at the bank. Unnamed sources told Bloomberg that the Bank of England declined the transfer due to a request from US Secretary of State Pompeo and National Security Adviser Bolton, who wanted to "cut off the regime from its overseas assets". In his memoir ''
The Room Where It Happened ''The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir'' is a memoir by John Bolton, who served as National Security Advisor for U.S. President Donald Trump from April 2018 to September 2019. Bolton was reportedly paid an advance of $2 million.S ...
'', Bolton said UK Foreign Minister
Jeremy Hunt Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt (born 1 November 1966) is a British politician who has served as Chancellor of the Exchequer since 14 October 2022. He previously served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport ...
was "delighted to cooperate on steps they could take, for example freezing Venezuela's gold deposits in the Bank of England, so the regime could not sell the gold to keep itself going". In an interview with the BBC, Maduro asked Britain to return the gold instead of sending humanitarian aid, saying that the gold was "legally Venezuela's, it belongs to the Central Bank of Venezuela" and could be used to solve the country's problems. Guaidó asked the British government to ensure that the Bank of England does not provide the gold to the Maduro government. Maduro also said that the US have frozen $10 billion in Venezuelan accounts through its sanctions. In mid-February 2019, a National Assembly legislator Ángel Alvarado said that eight tonnes of gold worth over US$340 million had been taken from the vault while the head of the Central Bank was abroad. In March, Ugandan investigators reported that the gold could have been smuggled into that country. Government sources said another eight tonnes of gold was taken out of the Central Bank in the first week of April 2019; the government source said that there were 100 tonnes left. The gold was removed while minimal staff was present and the bank was not fully operational because of the ongoing, widespread power outages; the destination of the gold was not known. In 2009, Venezuela's foreign reserves peaked at US$43 billion; by July 2017, they had fallen below $10 billion "for the first time in 15 years", and as of March 2019, they had dropped to US$8 billion. About two-thirds of Venezuela's reserves are in gold. Part of Venezuela's remaining reserves are held by the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
(IMF) in financial instruments called SDRs. In 2018, Venezuela had almost $1 billion in IMF SDRs, but it had drawn US$600 million in one year. To access SDR reserves, IMF rules require than a government be recognized by a majority of IMF members, and there is no majority recognition for either man claiming the Venezuelan presidency; the IMF denied Maduro access to the remaining US$400 million—"one of the regime’s last remaining sources of cash" according to Bloomberg. The IMF has not recognized Guaidó;
Ricardo Hausmann Ricardo Hausmann (born 1956) is the former Director of the Center for International Development currently leading the Center for International Development’s Growth Lab and is a Professor of the Practice of Economic Development at the John ...
—Guaidó's representative recognized by the
Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America, and serving as the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Carib ...
—said the "IMF is safeguarding the assets until a new government takes over. 'Those funds will be available when this usurpation ends.'" The US has given Guaidó control of "key Venezuelan bank accounts", and has said it will give Guaidó control of US assets once his administration is in power. The Portuguese bank Novo Banco stopped Maduro's attempt to transfer over US$1 billion through
BANDES Bandes may refer to: * BANDES, The Venezuelan Economic and Social Development Bank * Susan Bandes Susan Bandes is an American lawyer and the current Centennial Distinguished Professor Emeritus at DePaul University. Bandes is considered one of t ...
subsidiary, Banco Bandes Uruguay, in early 2019. Over two months later, Maduro responded that Portugal had illegally blocked the money, and asked that it be returned to buy food and medicine. In 2020, the English High Court ruled in favor of Juan Guaidó in a hearing over whether Guaidó or Nicolás Maduro should control $1 billion of its gold stored in the Bank of London. In 2022, the United Kingdom Supreme Court ruled in favor of Juan Guaidó again regarding the control of the gold stored in the Bank of London.


Sanctions

During the
crisis in Venezuela The crisis in Venezuela is an ongoing socioeconomic and political crisis that began in Venezuela during the presidency of Hugo Chávez and has worsened in Nicolás Maduro's presidency. It has been marked by hyperinflation, escalating starvation ...
, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Switzerland individually, and the countries of the European Union collectively, have applied sanctions against people associated with Maduro's administration, including government officials, members of the military and security forces, and private individuals. As of 27 March 2018, the Washington Office on Latin America said 78 Venezuelans associated with Maduro had been sanctioned by several countries. Through April 2019, the U.S. sanctioned more than 150 companies, vessels and individuals, in addition to revoking visas of 718 individuals associated with Maduro. Christian Krüger Sarmiento, director of Colombia Migration, announced on 30 January 2019 that the Colombian government maintained a list of people banned from entering Colombia or subject to expulsion. As of January 2019, the list had 200 people with a "close relationship and support for the Nicolás Maduro regime", but Krüger said the initial list could increase or decrease. As the humanitarian crisis deepened and expanded, the Trump administration levied more serious economic sanctions against Venezuela. In January 2019, during the presidential crisis, the United States imposed sanctions on the Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company
PDVSA Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA, ) (English: Petroleum of Venezuela) is the Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company. It has activities in exploration, production, refining and exporting oil as well as exploration and productio ...
to pressure Maduro to resign. On 15 April 2019,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
announced that another round of sanctions on 43 individuals were applied on 12 April based on the ''Special Economic Measures Act''. The government statement said those sanctioned are "high ranking officials of the Maduro regime, regional governors and/or directly implicated in activities undermining democratic institutions". The
United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
has also placed restrictions on transactions with digital currency emitted by or in the name of the government of Venezuela, referencing " Petro", a DIGITAL token. and on Venezuela's gold industry. After the detention of Guaidó's chief of staff,
Roberto Marrero Roberto Eugenio Marrero Borjas is a Venezuelan attorney, politician, and chief of staff to Juan Guaidó; he was arrested by SEBIN during a raid on his home in the early morning hours of 21 March 2019, and detained in El Helicoide, a prison run ...
, in March 2019, the US also sanctioned the Venezuelan bank
BANDES Bandes may refer to: * BANDES, The Venezuelan Economic and Social Development Bank * Susan Bandes Susan Bandes is an American lawyer and the current Centennial Distinguished Professor Emeritus at DePaul University. Bandes is considered one of t ...
and its subsidiaries. The Treasury Department sanctioned seven additional individuals for their involvement in the disputed internal parliamentary elections of the National Assembly in January 2020. An October 2020 report published by the
Washington Office on Latin America The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) is a United States non-governmental organization (NGO) whose stated goal is to promote human rights, democracy, and social and economic justice in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Washington Offic ...
(WOLA) by Venezuelan economist Luis Oliveros found that "while Venezuela’s economic crisis began before the first U.S. sectoral sanctions were imposed in 2017, these measures 'directly contributed to its deep decline, and to the further deterioration of the quality of life of Venezuelans' ". The report concluded that economic sanctions "have cost Venezuela’s government as much as $31 billion since 2017"


Censorship and media control

The Venezuelan press workers union denounced that in 2019, 40 journalists had been illegally detained as of 12 March; the National Assembly Parliamentary Commission for Media declared that there had been 173 aggressions against press workers as of 13 March. As of June 2019, journalists have been denied access to seven sessions of the National Assembly by the National Guard. Between 12 January and 18 January, Internet access to Wikipedia (in all languages) was blocked in Venezuela after Guaidó's page on the
Spanish Wikipedia The Spanish Wikipedia ( es, Wikipedia en español) is a Spanish-language edition of Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia. It has articles. Started in May 2001, it reached 100,000 articles on March 8, 2006 and 1,000,000 articles on May 16, 2013 ...
was edited to show him as president. Later on 21 January, the day of the National Guard mutiny in Cotiza, Internet access to some social media was reported blocked for CANTV users. The Venezuelan government denied it had engaged in blocking. During the 23 January protests, widespread Internet outages for CANTV users were reported. Live streams of the National Assembly sessions and Guaidó's speeches have been regularly disrupted for CANTV users. Since 22 January, some radio programs have been ordered off air; other programs have been temporarily canceled or received censorship warnings, including a threat to close private television and radio stations if they recognized Guaidó as acting president or interim president of Venezuela. The website "Voluntarios X Venezuela" was promoted by Guaidó and the National Assembly to gather volunteers for humanitarian aid. Between 12 and 13 February, CANTV users that tried to access were redirected to a mirror site with a different URL address. The mirror site asked for personal information, including names, ID, address and telephone numbers. The phishing website used the
.ve .ve is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Venezuela. On 3 March 2009 the ISO 3166-1 code for Venezuela changed to reflect the VE used for the ccTLD. Registrations are allowed without restrictions, only at the third level: * . ...
domain controlled by Conatel. This manipulation was denounced as a technique to identify dissidents to the government. Following the phishing incident, the official site was completely blocked for CANTV users on 16 February. During the 2020 election to choose the president of the National Assembly, independent journalists were also impeded from covering the event. Maduro's Ministry of Information, which has no relationship to the National Assembly, allowed reporters from state-run media to enter the legislative palace. Other reporters were not allowed in and told to watch it on a live feed from outside. State communications service
CANTV CANTV () is the state-run telephone and internet service provider in Venezuela. It was one of the first telephone service enterprises in the country, founded in 1930. The largest telecommunications provider in Venezuela, it was privatized in 19 ...
reportedly blocked access to social media sites
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
,
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...
,
Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
, and
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
on the day of the election. Block tracking website
NetBlocks NetBlocks is a watchdog organization that monitors cybersecurity and the governance of the Internet. The service was launched in 2017 to monitor Internet freedom. Work Projects NetBlocks publishes original reporting on Internet governan ...
reported that the block began as the National Assembly session did. During the
COVID-19 pandemic in Venezuela The COVID-19 pandemic in Venezuela is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first two cases in Venezuela were confirmed on 13 March 2020; the fi ...
, the National Assembly created a webpage to provide information on the
coronavirus disease 2019 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...
to the public. The access to the site was restricted for CANTV users. During Juan Guaidó's return to Venezuela in February 2020, after his second international tour, various media workers were insulted, harassed, robbed and physically aggressed by a group of supporters and pro-Maduro agitators that received him in the airport. According to the Venezuelan Press Working Union (SNTP), Venezuelan security forces were present and witnessed the attacks, but did not intervene. When journalists were going to file the complaint to the authorities, security forces impeded their access to the prosecutor office.


Closure of social media accounts

In September 2020, Facebook closed 55 accounts, 42 pages and 36 Instagram accounts linked to CLS Strategies, a Washington-based public relations firm. Facebook said these were fake accounts used to secretly manipulate politics in Bolivia, Venezuela and Mexico in violation of Facebook's prohibition on foreign interference. The Stanford Internet Observatory, a disinformation research group, reported that CLS Strategies employees had previous professional ties to opposition political leaders in Venezuela.


Arrests and detentions

Multiple individuals associated with Guaidó were arrested or detained by the Maduro government.
Roberto Marrero Roberto Eugenio Marrero Borjas is a Venezuelan attorney, politician, and chief of staff to Juan Guaidó; he was arrested by SEBIN during a raid on his home in the early morning hours of 21 March 2019, and detained in El Helicoide, a prison run ...
—Guaidó's chief of staff and
Leopoldo López Leopoldo Eduardo López Mendoza (born 29 April 1971) is a Venezuelan opposition leader. He co-founded the political party Primero Justicia in 2000 with Henrique Capriles and Julio Borges and was elected mayor of the Chacao Municipality of Caraca ...
's attorney—was arrested by
SEBIN The Bolivarian National Intelligence Service ( es, Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional, SEBIN) is the premier intelligence agency in Venezuela. SEBIN is an internal security force subordinate to the Vice President of Venezuela since 201 ...
during a raid on his home on 21 March.
Gilber Caro Gilber Caro (born 30 January 1974) is a Venezuelan politician, activist and thrice political prisoner. Early life Caro grew up in Catia, Caracas, Catia, a poor area of Venezuelan capital Caracas, with many siblings. At a young age, one of his b ...
, an alternate deputy and member of Guaido's party,
Popular Will Popular Will ( es, Voluntad Popular, abbr. VP) is a political party in Venezuela founded by former Mayor of Chacao, Leopoldo López, who is its national co-ordinator. The party describes itself as progressive and social-democratic and was adm ...
, was re-arrested by the
Bolivarian Intelligence Service The Bolivarian National Intelligence Service ( es, Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional, SEBIN) is the premier intelligence agency in Venezuela. SEBIN is an internal security force subordinate to the Vice President of Venezuela since 201 ...
on 26 April 2019. Eleven other members of Guaido's team have been summoned to appear before SEBIN.Most of the individuals who were seen with Guaidó during the attempted uprising and many legislators were either arrested or in hiding. In May 2019, the TSJ ordered the prosecution of seven National Assembly members for their actions on 30 April. The rival Constituent Assembly stripped the members of their parliamentary immunity. The National Assembly dismissed the sentence, holding that the members of the Tribunal are illegitimate and that their ruling violates the parliamentary immunity of the deputies. As of 2 May 2019, there were 205 arrests related to protests. National Assembly Vice President
Edgar Zambrano Edgar José Zambrano Ramírez (born 20 July 1955) is a Venezuelan lawyer and politician that currently serves as a National Assembly deputy for the Lara state. From January 5, 2019 to January 5, 2020, he served as First Vice President of the Asse ...
was arrested on 8 May 2019. With the seven deputies charged several crimes, an ''
El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...
'' article stated that the Venezuelan parliament, elected to a majority in the 2015 elections, has been "systematically blocked" and dismembered by "political persecution" of 60% of its elected members. There was no preliminary merit hearing as required by law; an additional three deputies were indicted without a preliminary merit hearing. Three of the recently sanctioned members sought temporary refuge in foreign embassies. On 13 July 2019, two of Guaidó's security guards were arrested in Caracas. According to Information Minister Jorge Rodríguez, the two guards had attempted to sell rifles that had been taken from a National Guard armory ahead of the failed uprising on 30 April 2019. Guaidó said that the guards were arrested while protecting his family during his tour around the country. He dismissed the weapon sale allegations and speculated that the authorities would torture and frame the two men by planting weapons on them. Rodríguez announced that evidence would be presented during the next round of talks.


See also

* 2019 Venezuelan protests *
2019 shipping of humanitarian aid to Venezuela During the presidential crisis between the Venezuelan governments of Nicolás Maduro and Juan Guaidó, a coalition of Colombia, Brazil, the United States and the Netherlands attempted to bring essential goods as a response to shortages in Venezu ...
*
International Conference on the Situation in Venezuela The International Conference on the Situation in Venezuela was a meeting of states which occurred in Montevideo, Uruguay, on 7 February 2019 to address the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis about the legitimacy of claims to the Venezuelan pres ...
*
2019 Bolivian political crisis A political crisis occurred in Bolivia on 10 November 2019, after 21 days of civil protests following the disputed 2019 Bolivian general election in which incumbent President Evo Morales was initially declared the winner. The elections took pl ...


Notes


References


External links

* {{Venezuela topics 2019 in Venezuela 2020 in Venezuela 2021 in Venezuela 2022 in Venezuela Conflicts in 2019 Conflicts in 2020 Conflicts in 2021 Conflicts in 2022 2019 in politics 2020 in politics 2021 in politics 2022 in politics Constitutional crises Crisis in Venezuela Foreign relations of Venezuela Political history of Venezuela Articles containing video clips