In May 2017, Maduro proposed the 2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, which was later held on 30 July 2017 despite wide international condemnation. The United States sanctioned Maduro following the election, labeling him as a "dictator", preventing him from entering the United States.
Since FY 2017, the United States has provided more than $856 million in assistance to support the response to the crisis inside Venezuela and the region, which includes $611 million in humanitarian assistance and $245 million in economic and development assistance.
It was an affluent country, with the largest proven fossil-fuel reserves in the world. But its economy is shrinking at an alarming rate, while at the same time inflation is spiralling out of control. Poverty and violent unrest have ensued. Here's a closer look at Venezuela's economic collapse.
The large amount of corruption and mismanagement in the country has resulted in severe economic difficulties, part of the crisis in Bolivarian Venezuela. Transparency International's 2019 Corruption Perception Index ranks the country in 173rd place out of 180 countries.
National Assembly President Juan GUAIDO is currently recognized by more than 50 countries - including the United States - as the interim president while MADURO retains control of all other institutions within the country and has the support of security forces.
Hugo Chávez served the longest uninterrupted period in office with 11 consecutive years, from his restoration to power in April 2002 until his death in March 2013. The current presidency has been disputed between Juan Guaido and Nicolás Maduro since January 10, 2019, in the ongoing Venezuelan presidential crisis.
Venezuela is a federal presidential republic.
It has the world's largest known oil reserves and has been one of the world's leading exporters of oil. Previously, the country was an underdeveloped exporter of agricultural commodities such as coffee and cocoa, but oil quickly came to dominate exports and government revenues.
Venezuela's heavy crude is almost solid when it comes out of the ground, so it cannot flow through pipelines. It needs chemicals, diluting agents such as naphtha, to turn into a lighter substance that can eventually be exported. Sanctions include a ban on US firms exporting these agents.
Since 2014, oil production in Venezuela has suffered from a poor oil market and Venezuela's insufficient funding of the industry. The Economic policy of the Nicolás Maduro administration did not revive the oil decline, and by 2016, the oil production reached the lowest it had been in 23 years.
Marxist–Leninist states
| Country | Since | Party |
|---|
| People's Republic of China | 1 October 1949 | Communist Party of China |
| Republic of Cuba | 1 January 1959 | Communist Party of Cuba |
| Lao People's Democratic Republic | 2 December 1975 | Lao People's Revolutionary Party |
| Socialist Republic of Vietnam | 2 September 1945 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
Potential causes of the hyperinflation include heavy money-printing and deficit spending. In April 2013, the month Maduro took office, the annual inflation rate was 29.4%, only 0.1% less than the rate in 1999 when Hugo Chávez took office. By April 2014, the annual inflation rate was 61.5%.
Venezuela has a dominant-party system, dominated by the United Socialist Party of Venezuela amidst other parties listed in the following section. PSUV and its forerunners have held the Presidency and National Assembly since 1998.
The 2019–2020 National Survey of Living Conditions (ENCOVI, for Encuesta Nacional de Condiciones de Vida) — published by researchers at Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas — shows that poverty levels in Venezuela spiked during 2019, officially rendering it the poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The people of Venezuela have suffered at the hands of the illegitimate Maduro regime. The regime's policies have led to hyperinflation, food shortages and a public health crisis, forcing tens of millions to suffer and millions more to flee the country. Below are photographs documenting their struggle.
U.S. sanctions are designed to ensure that Maduro and his cronies don't profit from illegal gold mining, state-operated oil operations, or other business transactions that would enable the regime's criminal activity and human rights abuses.
On 17 April 2019, the U.S. Treasury added sanctions to the Central Bank of Venezuela and its director, Iliana Ruzza.
Under Chávez, Venezuela experienced democratic backsliding, as he suppressed the press, manipulated electoral laws, and arrested and exiled government critics. His use of enabling acts and his government's use of propaganda were controversial.
Premier-presidential systems
- Algeria.
- Burkina Faso.
- Cape Verde.
- Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- East Timor.
- Egypt.
- France.
- Haiti.
Venezuela - Level 4: Do Not Travel. Do not travel to Venezuela due to crime, civil unrest, poor health infrastructure, kidnapping, arbitrary arrest and detention of U.S. citizens, and COVID-19. Violent crime, such as homicide, armed robbery, kidnapping, and carjacking, is common.
Venezuela has not only one of the largest in-ground gold reserves in the world, but until recently also had one of the largest reserves of monetary gold. However, since Maduro became president, the country has burnt through its gold reserves. In fact, Venezuela has sold the most gold in recent years in the world.
Diplomatic engagementOn January 24, 2019, the United States and 15 other OAS member states recognized Juan Guaidó as the interim President of Venezuela. On April 9, the OAS approved a resolution to accept Guaidó's nominee Gustavo Tarre as Venezuela's representative to the Permanent Council.
The term president usually refers to the head of state of a country that is a republic. A prime minister is usually the leader of the government of a country that is a constitutional monarchy (Australia), republic (France) or another system of government.
