Venezuela | Maduro announced that he will run for a third presidential term

South American President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro61, announced on Saturday that he will seek a third term in the presidential election at the end of July.

“I am here for the people and that is why today, March 16, 2024, I accept the presidential nomination in the July 28 election,” Maduro said.

If Maduro is elected for a third term, he would have led Venezuela for 18 years by the end of it. Venezuela's economy has been in very bad shape for years, and seven million people have left the country, whose gross domestic product has dropped by 80 percent in a decade.

Maduro has also been accused of persecuting the opposition and the free press.

Opposition candidate María Corina Machado, who according to opinion polls would beat Maduro in a fair election, is barred from running because of corruption charges that are widely seen as political. Machado has also supported Western sanctions against the current government of Venezuela.