Since Nicolás Maduro assumed leadership of the Venezuelan regime in 2013, following the death of then-dictator Hugo Chávez, the country has witnessed an intensification of Chavista authoritarianism, accompanied by a wave of repression that practically prevents the peaceful existence of an organized opposition and an economic crisis that has worsened significantly over the years.
While Chávez, during his time as dictator, established and consolidated the foundations of what we know today as Chavismo – a socialist and authoritarian regime, Maduro took these aspects to new extremes, deepening political persecution, exacerbating the already existing economic crisis and increasing Venezuela’s international isolation.
The Chávez government was already characterized by increasing control over political and economic institutions, but Maduro has expanded these practices even more severely. Under his leadership, repression of opponents has become a state policy, as well as a dominant feature of the Caracas regime, with the systematic use of force to silence any form of dissent.
Complaints made in recent years by international organizations, such as Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Amnesty International and members of the International Criminal Court (ICC), show that the Maduro regime currently arrests, tortures and even sexually abuses its opponents, simply for criticizing the current system of power that prevails in the country.
Maduro, in fact, is the target of an investigation by the ICC that is investigating serious cases of human rights violations in Venezuela, based on reports from several people who claim to have been victims of electric shocks, drowning and rape during the period in which they were under the control of agents of the Chavista regime after being arbitrarily arrested.
The Venezuelan electoral system was another one that came under Maduro’s firm control after he came to power. The last elections were easily rigged because the Chavista dictator placed one of his main allies in charge of Venezuela’s main electoral body, the National Electoral Council (CNE): Elvis Amoroso, a well-known activist affiliated with the Chavista party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
The presidential elections held on July 28, which, as in previous elections, were once again subject to Chavista manipulation, made this even clearer to the international community. Edmundo González Urrutia, the candidate representing the largest and most recently organized opposition bloc, the Plataforma Unitária Democrática (PUD), was the winner according to the records collected by witnesses and polling station inspectors. However, the CNE declared Maduro reelected, without presenting any evidence. In fact, the CNE’s failure to present the official records, which would be the evidence, was not a problem, since the Venezuelan Supreme Court, another state body that was rigged by the Maduro regime, validated the results, placing the electoral entity’s documents under seal and preventing any appeal that would challenge the manipulated official result.
After this entire process, González, who has been recognized by the United States as the true winner of the July election, became the target of an investigation conducted by the Venezuelan Public Prosecutor’s Office, which is subordinate to the country’s Attorney General’s Office, led by Tarek Saab, another Maduro ally. This week, the Public Prosecutor’s Office requested an arrest warrant for González, which was granted by the courts. The opponent is currently being hunted by Caracas forces.
The Maduro regime’s intensified repression was once again the dictator’s main weapon to silence those who contested the election results. Pro-opposition protests were harshly repressed, resulting in more than 1,700 arrests (2,400 according to Chavismo’s own calculations), 24 murders, according to HRW, and unfounded investigations against several dissidents, who were taken to maximum security prisons, such as the notorious El Helicoide, which has been the target of complaints for being described as a Chavismo torture center.
Control of communication vehicles
Repression in Maduro’s Venezuela is not limited to arrests and assassinations. The regime of the dictator who took over from Chavez has also intensified its systematic policy of censorship and control of the media.
“Since coming to power in 2013, Nicolás Maduro has maintained the policy of “communication hegemony” established by his predecessor, Hugo Chávez. Venezuela is experiencing a climate of information restrictions, in which the government’s measures threaten the very practice of independent journalism,” says the organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on its official website, which has already catalogued the arrest of eight Venezuelan journalists in this post-election period alone.
The detention and intimidation of journalists has become common and widespread under Maduro, who has also shut down radio, newspaper and television stations that do not have pro-regime content. This repressive approach has been seen by the opposition and the international community as a way for Chavismo to silence critics once and for all and ensure that the official narrative of the leftist dictatorship is the only one available to the public.
Destruction of the economy and the rise of corruption
Economically, the Maduro regime has failed to reverse the economic collapse that began under Chavez, and has instead exacerbated the crisis alarmingly. According to information from CNNan analysis carried out by Alex Agostini, chief economist at the rating agency Austin Rating, revealed that Venezuela’s economy shrank by 62.5% in the period from 2013 to 2023, under Maduro’s management.
According to Agostini’s analysis, the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) also collapsed during the regime of Chávez’s successor, falling from US$258.93 billion in 2013 to US$97.12 billion in 2023.
Inflation, which was already high during the Chávez dictatorship, has reached devastating levels, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimating inflation in Venezuela to reach 400% by 2023. The local currency, the bolivar, has depreciated by almost 50% against the US dollar in 2023, reflecting the deep financial crisis.
Oil production, which in 2013 was 2.5 million barrels per day, fell to around 850,000 barrels per day in 2024, according to information from the database. CEIC Data. This decline in oil production has worsened the country’s lack of liquidity, as the commodity was Venezuela’s main source of revenue, and has intensified shortages of essential goods.
Oil has also been a source of growing corruption under Maduro’s regime. The state-owned oil company PDVSA, once an economic pillar, has been the target of a growing embezzlement scheme, with managers chosen for their loyalty to Chavismo rather than their technical expertise. It is estimated that billions of dollars have been lost in corruption schemes, including one involving cryptocurrency to circumvent US sanctions. Drug trafficking has also infiltrated Venezuela’s power, with Maduro accused by the US of being one of the leaders of an international drug trafficking scheme that facilitated the transfer of drugs to several countries.
Migration crime and international isolation
The economic crisis has led to a large-scale humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, with millions of Venezuelans forced to flee the country. An estimated 7.7 million people have left Venezuela and migrated to other countries, including neighboring Colombia and Brazil, a direct reflection of the hopelessness and deteriora
ting living conditions in Venezuela.
In addition to internal repression and the economic crisis, the Maduro regime has also faced growing international isolation. Sanctions imposed by countries and international blocs, such as the European Union (EU) and the United States, which have even placed a bounty on Maduro’s capture, are aimed at limiting its financial and political capabilities. International restrictions have intensified as the regime has continued to increasingly crack down on opposition and systematically violate human rights.
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