Nicolás Maduro rose to prominence under the leadership of left-wing President Hugo Chávez and his United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
Maduro, a former bus driver and union leader, succeeded Chávez and has been president since 2013.
During the 26 years that Chávez and Maduro have been in power, their party has gained control of key institutions, including the National Assembly, much of the judiciary, and the electoral council.
In 2024, the electoral council declared Maduro the winner of the presidential election, even though voting tallies collected by the opposition suggested that their candidate, Edmundo González, had won by a landslide.
The US is one of many countries which declared the election illegitimate and recognised González as “president-elect”.
But with Maduro firmly in control of the military, the police and the legislature, he has remained in power and González has fled into exile for fear of arrest.
