Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks with the press after holding a meeting with FIFA president Gianni Infantino at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas, on October 15, 2021.
CNN —
Here’s a look at the life of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Personal
Birth date: November 23, 1962
Birth place: Caracas, Venezuela
Birth name: Nicolás Maduro Moros
Father: Nicolás Maduro García
Mother: Teresa de Jesús Moros
Marriage: Cilia Flores
Children: Nicolás Jr.
Other Facts
Worked as a bus driver for Caracas Metro and belonged to the transit union.
Maduro campaigned for Hugo Chavez’s release from prison for the 1992 attempted coup to overthrow President Carlos Andres Perez.
After Chavez’s release, Maduro helped him found the political party Fifth Republic Movement.
Timeline
1999 - Maduro is elected to the National Constituent Assembly, the body convened to draft a new constitution.
2000 - Is elected to the National Assembly, the country’s legislative branch of government
2005-2006 - Serves as Speaker of the National Assembly.
2006-2013 - Serves as foreign minister.
October 12, 2012 - Is selected by Chavez to serve as vice president.
December 9, 2012 - Facing his fourth surgery for cancer, Chavez endorses Maduro to succeed him.
March 8, 2013 - Is sworn in as interim president following the death of Chavez.
April 14, 2013 - Wins the presidential election by fewer than two percentage points. Maduro’s opponent, Henrique Capriles Radonski demands a recount. On April 17, a manual recount is ruled as unconstitutional by the country’s chief justice.
April 19, 2013 - Maduro is sworn in.
September 30, 2013 - Maduro announces on state-run TV that he is expelling three US diplomats. He claims they were involved in a widespread power outage earlier in the month. “Get out of Venezuela,” he says, listing several names. “Yankee go home. Enough abuses already.”
February 12, 2014 - Ongoing student protests attract global attention when three people are killed. Major social and economic problems have fueled the protests, with some blaming the government for those problems.
February 20, 2014 - Venezuela revokes press credentials for CNN journalists in the country and denies them for other CNN journalists entering the country, following Maduro’s announcement that he would expel CNN if it did not “rectify” its coverage of anti-government protests, calling it war propaganda. On February 22, Venezuela reissues press credentials for CNN journalists in the country.
February 21, 2014 - Maduro calls for US President Barack Obama to “accept the challenge” of holding direct talks with Venezuela.
January 15, 2016 - Following the release of years of economic data, Maduro declares a state of economic emergency.
May 1, 2017 - Maduro announces that he has signed an executive order paving the way for changes in the constitution that will reshape the legislature and redefine his executive powers.
May 13, 2016 - Maduro declares a constitutional state of emergency, which expands on the economic emergency he declared in January.
October 30, 2016 - Maduro participates in talks with political opponents for the first time in two years.
July 30, 2017 - An election is held to replace the National Assembly with a new pro-Maduro legislative body called the National Constituent Assembly. Amid clashes between police and protestors, at least six people are killed. Although Maduro claims victory, opposition leaders say the vote is fraudulent.
July 31, 2017 - The US Treasury Department sanctions Maduro’s assets and bars US citizens from dealing with him. This comes a day after elections are held for a new lawmaking body.
January 24, 2018 - Announces he will run for reelection.
May 20, 2018 - During an election denounced by opposition leaders and the international community, Maduro wins another six-year term. Voter turnout falls to 46%, down from an 80% participation rate in 2013. The next day, an alliance of 14 Latin American nations and Canada, known as the Lima Group, releases a statement calling the vote illegitimate.
August 4, 2018 - Several drones armed with explosives fly towards Maduro in an apparent assassination attempt during a military parade. The next day, the interior minister announces that six people have been arrested in connection with the attack. Maduro is not injured.
August 5, 2018 - Interior Minister Néstor Reverol says that six people have been arrested after the apparent assassination attempt on Maduro.
September 8, 2018 - The New York Times reports secret meetings between US officials and Venezuelan military officers planning a coup against Maduro. CNN confirms the report, which describes a series of meetings over the course of a year.
September 17, 2018 - Maduro is criticized for eating a lavish meal by celebrity chef Nusret Gökçe, also known as Salt Bae, in the midst of a food crisis.
September 25, 2018 - The United States imposes sanctions on Maduro’s wife and three other members of his inner circle, as an attempt to weaken his grip on power.
September 26, 2018 - Maduro speaks at the UN General Assembly, calling the humanitarian crisis in his country a “fabrication.” He accuses the United States and its Latin American allies of “trying to put their hands in our country.”
October 8, 2018 - One of the suspects in the apparent assassination attempt dies in a fall from the tenth floor of a building. Intelligence officials say the death was a suicide.
January 10, 2019 - Maduro is sworn in for his second term, although most democratic countries in the region refuse to recognize him as president. The Organization of American States says its member nations voted 19-6, with eight abstentions, to not recognize the legitimacy of Maduro’s government.
January 23, 2019 - Juan Guaido, who leads the National Assembly, declares himself the interim president amid anti-government protests. Following Guaido’s announcement, US President Donald Trump says that the United States recognizes him as the legitimate president. Maduro accuses the United States of backing an attempted coup and gives US diplomats 72 hours to leave the country.
April 30, 2019 - During a live televised address, Maduro claims troops loyal to him defeated a “coup-de-etat attempt” by Trump and national security adviser John Bolton. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tells CNN that Maduro had been preparing to depart the country via airplane, but Russians convinced him to stay. A spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry says Pompeo’s claim is false.
July 4, 2019 - The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights publishes a report highly critical of the Maduro regime. Based on research conducted January 2018 to May 2019, the report “highlights patterns of violations directly and indirectly affecting all human rights.” Responding a few days later, Maduro says the report contains manipulations and inaccurate data.
March 26, 2020 - The Justice Department announces narco-terrorism and other criminal charges against Maduro and senior leaders from his government. Federal prosecutors in New York’s Southern District, Miami and Washington, DC, allege the officials are the leaders of the so-called Cartel de los Soles and coordinate with the Colombian rebel group FARC to traffic cocaine to the United States.
May 4, 2020 - In a live address on state television, Maduro reports that two American “mercenaries” have been apprehended after a failed coup attempt to capture and remove him. He identifies the captured Americans as Luke Denman, 34, and Airan Berry, 41. He shows what he claims are the US passports and driver’s licenses of the men, along with their ID cards from Silvercorp, a Florida-based security services company. On August 8, the men are sentenced to 20 years in prison.
July 24, 2021 - During an interview with Venezuela’s state-run television, Maduro says he is ready to open negotiations with the Venezuelan opposition in August.
October 16, 2021 - Venezuela suspends on-going negotiations with the opposition following the Cape Verde extradition of Colombian businessman Alex Saab, alleged financier to Maduro, to the United States on money laundering charges.
September 20, 2022 - A new UN report documents the crimes against humanity, including acts of torture committed by the Venezuelan security forces. The report says the orders for the crimes came from Maduro and other high level officials.
July 29, 2024 - Protests break out in several Venezuelan cities after Maduro is formally declared a winner by the county’s electoral authority in a presidential race marred by accusations of electoral fraud.
Supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido wave a Venezuelan flag as they wait for him to make an appearance in the country's capital of Caracas on Monday, March 4.
Guaido greets supporters upon arriving at a Caracas airport on March 4. He crossed the border to Colombia in late February before embarking on a South American tour, meeting the presidents of Colombia, Brazil, Paraguay and Ecuador, along with US Vice President Mike Pence. By doing so, Guaido ignored a travel ban imposed on him by the country's Supreme Court.
Guaido shakes hands with Pence in Bogota, Colombia, on Monday, February 25. The room was filled with humanitarian aid destined for Venezuela. Guaido's wife, Fabiana Rosales, is pictured at left.
Demonstrators clash with Venezuelan soldiers at the Simon Bolivar International Bridge in Cucuta, Colombia, on Saturday, February 23.
Supporters of President Maduro take part in a march in Caracas on February 23.
Guaido supporters take part in a march in Caracas on February 23. Venezuelan security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse a crowd demanding to cross the Venezuela-Colombia border, which was ordered closed by Maduro.
Demonstrators push a bus that was set on fire during clashes with the Venezuelan National Guard in Urena, Venezuela, on February 23.
Maduro waves the national flag during a pro-government march in Caracas on February 23. During the rally at the Venezuelan capital, Maduro told supporters he is breaking all diplomatic relations with Colombia and is calling for its ambassadors and consuls to leave Venezuela. Maduro recently began a second term after a 2018 vote that his political opposition and many in the international community denounced as a sham.
People attempt to salvage packages from a truck loaded with humanitarian aid after it was set ablaze on a bridge between Cucuta, Colombia, and Urena, Venezuela, on February 23.
Venezuelan opposition supporters protested in Caracas on Tuesday, February 12, calling on Maduro to let humanitarian aid into the economically crippled country.
Guaido addresses the crowd in Caracas on February 12.
A man wearing a Venezuelan flag sits on a traffic light during the demonstration in Caracas on February 12.
Guaido waves to supporters during the rally in Caracas on February 2.
An anti-government protester wears glasses with a Venezuelan flag motif at the demonstration in Caracas on February 2.
Protesters gather for the Caracas rally on February 2.
Maduro supporters gather in Caracas on February 2.
Opposition demonstrators protest against Maduro's government on Wednesday, January 30.
In this handout photo released by the Miraflores Presidential Press Office, Maduro flashes a "V for victory" hand gesture after arriving at the Fort Tiuna military base in Caracas on January 30.
Members of the National Police line up to guard the entrance of Venezuela's Central University in Caracas during an anti-government protest on January 30.
Guaido speaks to reporters in Caracas on January 30. The United States and more than a dozen other countries have recognized Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate ruler.
A Maduro mural is seen in the Petare slum of Caracas on Tuesday, January 29.
Guaido listens to deputy Rafael Veloz during a session at the National Assembly in Caracas on January 29. The Assembly met to debate a legal framework for creating a transitional government and calling new elections. Simultaneously, Venezuela's attorney general asked the Supreme Court to freeze Guaido's assets and bar him from leaving the country.
A view of the National Assembly building in Caracas on January 29.
The president of Venezuela's Supreme Court, Maikel Moreno, speaks at a news conference in Caracas on January 29.
A man pumps fuel at a gas station in Caracas on January 29. A day earlier, the United States announced sanctions against Venezuela's state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A.
Supporters of Venezuela's opposition hold up letters that read "Justice" at a rally to hear Guaido speak in Caracas on Saturday, January 26.
Guaido speaks to reporters after attending Mass in Caracas on Sunday, January 27.
Government supporters in Caracas hold a rally in support of Maduro on January 26.
Maduro holds a news conference in Caracas on Friday, January 25. The Venezuelan strongman has accused Guaido and the United States of trying to orchestrate a coup against him.
Portraits of former Venezuelan leaders Simon Bolivar and Hugo Chavez hover in the background as Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, bottom left, addresses a news conference in Caracas on Thursday, January 24. Venezuela's top military officials swore their allegiance to Maduroafter other nations recognized Guaido as head of state.
A man wrapped in a Venezuelan flag raises his arms in front of security forces during anti-government protests in Caracas on Wednesday, January 23.
Opposition supporters in Caracas protest Maduro on January 23.
Opposition supporters react to tear gas as they take part in the Caracas rally on January 23. Sporadic clashes erupted, but Maduro's military response to the protests seemed more measured than in the past.
Police secure an area in Caracas on January 23.
A National Police officer fires rubber bullets in Caracas.
People raise their hands to show solidarity with Guaido, who was declaring himself interim president on January 23.
A wounded protester in Caracas on January 23.
Security forces stand in a street full of stones after clashing with demonstrators in Caracas.
Maduro, speaking to a crowd of supporters at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, holds up a document that says his government is breaking off diplomatic ties with the United States. "We cannot accept the invasive policies of the empire, the United States, the policies of Donald Trump," he said to cheers from the crowd on January 23. "Venezuela is a land of liberators."
A wounded protester shows his back as riot police clashed with opposition demonstrators in Caracas on January 23.
A man walks by a bus that had been set on fire in Caracas.
An opposition demonstrator runs with a tear-gas canister on January 23.
Guaido greets a crowd in Caracas on January 23.
Protesters set up barricades to block a road in Caracas.
A National Police officer fires tear gas at demonstrators in Caracas while another shoots the scene with a cell phone.
Demonstrators in Caracas protest Maduro's government.
Venezuelan banknotes were thrown on the ground during the Maduro protests on January 23.
 - Shopify)