Nicolás Maduro, the President of Venezuela, was reportedly arrested by US forces on Saturday, according to statements from US President Donald Trump. The US government has accused Maduro of involvement in drug cartels and other crimes, and has pressured him for months to step down.
Maduro was born into a working-class family on 23 November 1962, the son of a trade union leader. He worked as a bus driver during the period when army officer Hugo Chávez led a failed coup attempt in 1992.
He campaigned for Chávez’s release from prison and became a devoted supporter of his left-wing agenda. After Chávez was elected in 1998, Maduro won a seat in the legislature.
He later became President of the National Assembly and subsequently Minister of Foreign Affairs, travelling worldwide to build international alliances through oil-funded aid programmes.
Chávez named him as his successor, and Maduro was narrowly elected President in 2013 following Chávez’s death.
Crimes against humanity
His government oversaw a dramatic economic collapse marked by hyperinflation and chronic shortages. Maduro’s tenure became notorious for alleged electoral fraud, food shortages, and human rights violations, including harsh crackdowns on protests in 2014 and 2017. Millions of Venezuelans fled the country.
The administration has faced aggressive sanctions from the US and other powers. In 2020, Washington charged Maduro with corruption and other offences, which he denied.
He was sworn in for a third term in January 2025 after the 2024 elections, widely condemned by international observers and the opposition as rigged. Thousands of protesters opposing his government’s declared victory were imprisoned.
A UN Fact-Finding Mission last month concluded that Venezuela’s Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) committed serious human rights violations and crimes against humanity for over a decade, targeting political opponents with impunity.
The government’s crackdown was highlighted when opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.