Nicolás Maduro rose from a unionized bus driver in Caracas to the presidency of Venezuela, inheriting power after the death of Hugo Chávez and consolidating it over a turbulent decade in office.
Under his leadership, the nation spiraled into crisis, pushing millions into poverty and driving one of the world’s largest migration waves.
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Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro embrace in downtown Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
Men watch smoke rising from a dock after explosions were heard at La Guaira port, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
FILE - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro brandishes a sword said to have belonged to independence hero Simon Bolivar during a civic-military event at the military academy in Caracas, Venezuela, Nov. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro places his hand over his hear while talking to high-ranking officers during a military ceremony on his inauguration day for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro raises up his closed fists during a news conference at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, July 31, 2024, three days after his disputed reelection. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
FILE - President Nicolas Maduro, accompanied by first lady Cilia Flores, raises his arms during his closing election campaign rally in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, July 25, 2024. Maduro was seeking a third term in the July 28 vote. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)
FILE - A campaign mural promotes Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who is seeking a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, July 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - President Nicolas Maduro speaks to pro-government supporters after a referendum regarding Venezuela's claim to Essequibo, a region administered and controlled by Guyana, in Caracas, Venezuela, Dec. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro holds up the National Electoral Council certificate declaring him the winner of the presidential election, during a ceremony at CNE headquarters in Caracas, Venezuela, May 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro stands with his wife, first lady Cilia Flores, right, in a shower of confetti during his closing campaign rally for reelection in Caracas, Venezuela, May 17, 2018. Maduro was seeking a new six-year mandate amid crippling hyperinflation and widespread shortages of food and medicine. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro holds a copy of the constitution, as he speaks during a news conference in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 22, 2017. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro embraces a national flag during a rally in Caracas, Venezuela, July 27, 2017. Maduro provoked international outcry and enraged an opposition demanding his resignation with his push to elect an assembly that will rewrite the nation's constitution. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - An anti-government protester opposing President Nicolas Maduro's plan to rewrite the constitution, holds a homemade shield brandished with photos of Maduro, government officials and a gun sight, during clashes with security forces blocking a march to the Supreme Court, in Caracas, Venezuela, July 22, 2017. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)
FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro arrives at the Miraflores Palace, driving a bus from the airport after returning home from a two-week fundraising trip, in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 17, 2015. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, backdropped by a painting of independence hero Simon Bolivar, speaks during a press conference at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas, Venezuela. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - Venezuela's acting President Nicolas Maduro waves a national flag over supporters after registering his candidacy for president to replace late President Hugo Chavez at the national electoral council in Caracas, Venezuela, March 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro winds up to pitch a ball during the opening ceremony of the Caribbean Series baseball tournament in Porlamar, Venezuela, Feb. 1, 2014. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)
FILE - Venezuela's acting President Nicolas Maduro greets supporters as he arrives to Bolivar Ave. for his closing campaign rally in Caracas, Venezuela, April 11, 2013. Maduro, the hand-picked successor of Venezuela's late President Hugo Chavez, defeated opposition candidate Henrique Capriles in the April 14th election. (AP photo/Ramon Espinosa, File)
FILE - Venezuela's then acting President Nicolas Maduro holds a farm worker's hat with the figure of a bird perched on the hat's crown during a presidential election campaign rally in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, April 9, 2013. Maduro assured during a campaign rally that the late President Hugo Chavez appeared to him as a "very small bird" to give him his blessing. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - Nicolas Maduro, left, embraces the President of the National Assembly Diosdado Cabello, after Maduro was sworn in as Venezuela's acting president at the National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela, March 8, 2013. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)
FILE - Bolivia's President Evo Morales, front left, Venezuela's Vice President Nicolas Maduro, second from left, and Attorney General Cilia Flores, third from left, walk in the procession carrying the coffin of Venezuela's late President Hugo Chavez from the hospital where he died, to the military academy where his body will lie in state in Caracas, Venezuela, March 6, 2013. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix, File)
FILE - Venezuela's long time Foreign Minster Nicolas Maduro attends a ceremony declaring President Hugo Chavez official winner of the presidential elections at the Electoral Council in Caracas, Venezuela, Oct. 10, 2012, where Chavez announced he was naming Maduro as his new vice president. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, left, talks to then Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro in Montevideo, Uruguay, Dec. 18, 2007. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico, File)
FILE - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, center right, is accompanied by President of Congress Nicolas Maduro, center left, before giving his annual speech to Congress in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 14, 2005. (AP Photo/Leslie Mazoch, File)
FILE - Pro-government lawmakers from left: Nicolas Maduro, Francisco Solorzano and Cilia Flores, surrounded by supporters, leave the National Congress building boycotting a parliamentary session, in Caracas, Venezuela, June 12, 2003. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)
International isolation and U.S.-led sanctions intensified as Maduro clung to power.
This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro embrace in downtown Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
Men watch smoke rising from a dock after explosions were heard at La Guaira port, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
FILE - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro brandishes a sword said to have belonged to independence hero Simon Bolivar during a civic-military event at the military academy in Caracas, Venezuela, Nov. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro places his hand over his hear while talking to high-ranking officers during a military ceremony on his inauguration day for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro raises up his closed fists during a news conference at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, July 31, 2024, three days after his disputed reelection. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
FILE - President Nicolas Maduro, accompanied by first lady Cilia Flores, raises his arms during his closing election campaign rally in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, July 25, 2024. Maduro was seeking a third term in the July 28 vote. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)
FILE - A campaign mural promotes Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who is seeking a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, July 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - President Nicolas Maduro speaks to pro-government supporters after a referendum regarding Venezuela's claim to Essequibo, a region administered and controlled by Guyana, in Caracas, Venezuela, Dec. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro holds up the National Electoral Council certificate declaring him the winner of the presidential election, during a ceremony at CNE headquarters in Caracas, Venezuela, May 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro stands with his wife, first lady Cilia Flores, right, in a shower of confetti during his closing campaign rally for reelection in Caracas, Venezuela, May 17, 2018. Maduro was seeking a new six-year mandate amid crippling hyperinflation and widespread shortages of food and medicine. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro holds a copy of the constitution, as he speaks during a news conference in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 22, 2017. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro embraces a national flag during a rally in Caracas, Venezuela, July 27, 2017. Maduro provoked international outcry and enraged an opposition demanding his resignation with his push to elect an assembly that will rewrite the nation's constitution. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - An anti-government protester opposing President Nicolas Maduro's plan to rewrite the constitution, holds a homemade shield brandished with photos of Maduro, government officials and a gun sight, during clashes with security forces blocking a march to the Supreme Court, in Caracas, Venezuela, July 22, 2017. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)
FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro arrives at the Miraflores Palace, driving a bus from the airport after returning home from a two-week fundraising trip, in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 17, 2015. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, backdropped by a painting of independence hero Simon Bolivar, speaks during a press conference at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas, Venezuela. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - Venezuela's acting President Nicolas Maduro waves a national flag over supporters after registering his candidacy for president to replace late President Hugo Chavez at the national electoral council in Caracas, Venezuela, March 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro winds up to pitch a ball during the opening ceremony of the Caribbean Series baseball tournament in Porlamar, Venezuela, Feb. 1, 2014. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)
FILE - Venezuela's acting President Nicolas Maduro greets supporters as he arrives to Bolivar Ave. for his closing campaign rally in Caracas, Venezuela, April 11, 2013. Maduro, the hand-picked successor of Venezuela's late President Hugo Chavez, defeated opposition candidate Henrique Capriles in the April 14th election. (AP photo/Ramon Espinosa, File)
FILE - Venezuela's then acting President Nicolas Maduro holds a farm worker's hat with the figure of a bird perched on the hat's crown during a presidential election campaign rally in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, April 9, 2013. Maduro assured during a campaign rally that the late President Hugo Chavez appeared to him as a "very small bird" to give him his blessing. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - Nicolas Maduro, left, embraces the President of the National Assembly Diosdado Cabello, after Maduro was sworn in as Venezuela's acting president at the National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela, March 8, 2013. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)
FILE - Bolivia's President Evo Morales, front left, Venezuela's Vice President Nicolas Maduro, second from left, and Attorney General Cilia Flores, third from left, walk in the procession carrying the coffin of Venezuela's late President Hugo Chavez from the hospital where he died, to the military academy where his body will lie in state in Caracas, Venezuela, March 6, 2013. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix, File)
FILE - Venezuela's long time Foreign Minster Nicolas Maduro attends a ceremony declaring President Hugo Chavez official winner of the presidential elections at the Electoral Council in Caracas, Venezuela, Oct. 10, 2012, where Chavez announced he was naming Maduro as his new vice president. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, left, talks to then Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro in Montevideo, Uruguay, Dec. 18, 2007. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico, File)
FILE - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, center right, is accompanied by President of Congress Nicolas Maduro, center left, before giving his annual speech to Congress in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 14, 2005. (AP Photo/Leslie Mazoch, File)
FILE - Pro-government lawmakers from left: Nicolas Maduro, Francisco Solorzano and Cilia Flores, surrounded by supporters, leave the National Congress building boycotting a parliamentary session, in Caracas, Venezuela, June 12, 2003. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)
