# Nicolás Maduro

## The power he actually held

Nicolás Maduro has been president of Venezuela since 19 April 2013. TSJ interprets. FANB and PDVSA share the coercive and oil files. He is the political principal, not every precinct printer and not OFAC.

As of August 2026 he remains in Miraflores after a 10 January 2025 oath that several states do not treat as a completed democratic mandate.

## What went wrong, and what is proven

The succession file is [14 April 2013](/facts/ve-cne-2013): a completed CNE announcement of a narrow win.

[29 March 2017](/facts/ve-tsj-an-2017) the TSJ assumed [National Assembly](/organizations/national-assembly) powers. [30 July 2017](/facts/ve-anc-2017) a National Constituent Assembly was elected and seated over the 2015 Assembly. [April–July 2017 protests](/facts/ve-protests-2017) are a completed repression wave; OHCHR recorded the weeks; the UN FFM later used “reasonable grounds” language. That is an international finding, not a conviction.

[20 May 2018](/facts/ve-election-2018) is a completed presidential contest the opposition largely boycotted and that the EU and US did not treat as a completed democratic mandate. [IMF WEO, 9 October 2018](/facts/ve-imf-2018) printed hyperinflation estimates after BCV stopped a public CPI. [2016 GDP leak](/facts/ve-gdp-2016) of about .6 percent sits before PDVSA oil-sector sanctions.

[23 January 2019](/facts/ve-guaido-2019) opened a recognition crisis he did not write as a US communique. [28 January 2019](/facts/ve-pdvsa-ofac-2019) OFAC designated PDVSA — an external instrument; his oil-sector management is not OFAC. [7 June 2019](/facts/ve-exodus-2019) UNHCR and IOM printed four million Venezuelans abroad. [7 March 2019](/facts/ve-blackout-2019) is a completed national blackout. [6 December 2020](/facts/ve-election-2020) is a completed parliamentary contest under boycott weather.

[5 July 2021](/facts/ve-ohchr-2021) [Bachelet](/people/michelle-bachelet) documented [civic-space](/drivers/civic-space) restrictions around the OHCHR technical presence. [3 November 2021](/facts/ve-icc-2021) the ICC Prosecutor opened Venezuela I; an investigation is not a conviction. [26 January 2024](/facts/ve-machado-2024) the TSJ upheld María Corina Machado’s disqualification. [15 February 2024](/facts/ve-ohchr-leave-2024) Caracas ordered OHCHR technical staff to leave. [1 December 2023](/facts/ve-essequibo-icj-2023) ICJ provisional measures in Guyana v. Venezuela; he did not sit as the Court.

[28 July 2024](/facts/ve-cne-2024) CNE announced a Maduro win without precinct-level results. Opposition actas are a different status. [30 July 2024](/facts/ve-carter-2024) the Carter Center published its finding. [Post-election repression](/facts/ve-repression-2024) is a completed OHCHR/UN FFM and PROVEA detention cluster. [Political prisoners and TSJ](/facts/ve-prisoners-2019) is a dated arbitrary-detention file.

## What improved, and how far

[CLAP, 2016](/facts/ve-clap-2016) is a completed household-box instrument with a capture path stored on the same row, not a poverty miracle. [Oslo talks, May 2019](/facts/ve-oslo-2019) are a completed dialogue attempt. [Sputnik and later COVAX imports](/facts/ve-vaccines-2021) are completed vaccine-access instruments. [21 November 2021 regionals](/facts/ve-regional-2021) are a completed partial contest with an EU election-observation mission. [Chevron GL 41, 26 November 2022](/facts/ve-chevron-2022) is a completed US licence plus PDVSA barrels — complex. [Mexico social agreement, 26 November 2022](/facts/ve-mexico-2022) is a completed humanitarian-funds instrument. [Colombia ties, 28 August 2022](/facts/ve-colombia-2022) are a completed Venezuelan-side restoration, not a Colombian statute. [Barbados, 17 October 2023](/facts/ve-barbados-2023) is a completed electoral-guarantees signing; later breach is a child. [Brazil 2023](/facts/ve-brazil-2023) is a completed reopening. [20 December 2023 swap](/facts/ve-swap-2023) is a completed prisoner exchange, shared with Washington.

## Shared responsibility, and what the score does not say

The score does not say that every later CPI point is a unique presidential coefficient. It does not say that a Chevron licence rebates 2017 lethal force. It does not convert a CNE announcement, an opposition acta, and a Carter Center finding into one status. It does not convert an ICC investigation into a conviction. It does not treat 2019 oil sanctions as the author of the 2016 contraction. Confidence is high on CNE announcements, Carter’s URL, ICC dates, and IMF tables labelled as estimates, and medium where PDVSA, SEBIN, and later ENCOVI series sit between a signature and a welfare indicator.

Related people are counterpart rulers and the live Machado file: Machado, Xi, Putin, Trump, Biden, Lula, Guterres, Macron, Milei, Bukele, Sheinbaum, Khamenei.

Official carriers include CNE and TSJ where those locators still resolve, otherwise UN, ICC, ICJ, IMF, and Treasury records of the same dated act, plus contemporaneous Reuters, AP, HRW, IACHR, and Carter.

A president is powerful enough to own those CNE nights and those cabinet decrees. He is not powerful enough to be the unique author of an OFAC licence or of an ICC Pre-Trial decision, and the dossier keeps that line visible. Keep 14 April 2013 off 28 July 2024. Keep Carter off a CNE percentage. Keep OFAC off 2016. If those distinctions feel pedantic, they are the alternative to a blockade film and the alternative to a cartoon.

The 2013 oath, the 2017 ANC, Barbados, and the 2024 CNE night are different dates. Treat them as texts. A 2025 oath is not a Carter sentence. He is still in Miraflores in August 2026. PSUV, TSJ, CNE, FANB, and PDVSA remain on the file so a brand cannot swallow them.

## Dated facts

- The Carter Center finds the 2024 presidential election did not meet international standards and cannot be considered democratic. https://factrail.ai/facts/ve-carter-2024. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/carter-center-says-venezuelan-election-cannot-be-considered-democratic-2024-07-31/, https://www.cartercenter.org/news/venezuela-073024/.
- 2024: Post-election protests meet a detention wave documented by OHCHR, the UN FFM, and PROVEA. https://factrail.ai/facts/ve-repression-2024. Sources: https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/09/04/venezuela-brutal-crackdown-protesters-voters, https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/57/57.
- CNE announces a Maduro win in the 28 July 2024 presidential election without precinct-level results. https://factrail.ai/facts/ve-cne-2024. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuelas-maduro-declared-election-winner-opposition-disputes-result-2024-07-29/, https://www.cne.gob.ve/.
- 2024: Caracas orders OHCHR technical-office staff to leave within 72 hours. https://factrail.ai/facts/ve-ohchr-leave-2024. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuela-asks-un-human-rights-staff-leave-country-amid-review-2024-02-15/, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-briefing-notes/2024/02/comment-un-human-rights-office-venezuela.
- 2024: The TSJ upholds María Corina Machado’s disqualification from seeking the presidency. https://factrail.ai/facts/ve-machado-2024. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuelas-top-court-upholds-ban-opposition-leader-machado-2024-01-26/, https://www.tsj.gob.ve/.
- 2023: The United States and Venezuela complete a prisoner exchange including Alex Saab. https://factrail.ai/facts/ve-swap-2023. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/world/us-venezuela-prisoner-swap-alex-saab-2023-12-20/, https://mppre.gob.ve/.
- 2023: The ICJ indicates provisional measures in Guyana v. Venezuela over the Essequibo. https://factrail.ai/facts/ve-essequibo-icj-2023. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/world-court-orders-venezuela-refrain-action-guyana-border-dispute-2023-12-01/, https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/171/171-20231201-ord-01-00-en.pdf.
- 2023: Government and Unitary Platform sign the Barbados partial agreement on electoral guarantees. https://factrail.ai/facts/ve-barbados-2023. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuela-government-opposition-reach-deal-us-sanctions-relief-2023-10-17/, https://www.regjeringen.no/en/topics/foreign-affairs/peace-and-reconciliation-efforts/norways_engagement/venezuela_negotiations/id2674295/.
- 2023: IMF World Economic Outlook prints a 2022 Venezuelan GDP rebound after the collapse years. https://factrail.ai/facts/ve-gdp-2022. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuela-economy-grows-2022-after-years-collapse-imf-2023-04-11/, https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2023/04/11/world-economic-outlook-april-2023.
- 2023: Maduro attends Lula’s inauguration as Brazil restores high-level ties. https://factrail.ai/facts/ve-brazil-2023. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazils-lula-vows-help-mediate-venezuela-crisis-2023-01-01/, https://mppre.gob.ve/.
- 2022 closes with dollarization-from-below and a sharp inflation deceleration from the 2018 IMF-estimate peak. https://factrail.ai/facts/ve-dollarization-2022. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuela-inflation-slows-dollarization-takes-hold-2022-12-30/, https://www.bcv.org.ve/.
- 2022: Government and Unitary Platform sign a Mexico social agreement to unlock frozen funds for humanitarian use. https://factrail.ai/facts/ve-mexico-2022. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuela-govt-opposition-agree-unlock-frozen-funds-humanitarian-aid-2022-11-26/, https://www.regjeringen.no/en/topics/foreign-affairs/peace-and-reconciliation-efforts/norways_engagement/venezuela_negotiations/id2674295/.

## Methodology

https://factrail.ai/methodology

Canonical: https://factrail.ai/people/nicolas-maduro