From bus driver to besieged leader: The rise of Hugo Chávez’s heir President Nicolás Maduro

Few global leaders embody political survival and controversy as starkly as Nicolás Maduro Moros, Venezuela’s long-serving president and the self-proclaimed guardian of Hugo Chávez’s Bolivarian revolution. A former bus driver and trade union organiser, Maduro’s ascent was improbable; his ability to retain power amid economic collapse, mass migration, sanctions and international isolation has made him one of Latin America’s most polarising figures. 

Born on November 23, 1962, in Caracas to a working-class family, Maduro was shaped by leftist student activism and labour movements. He joined the Movimiento Bolivariano Revolucionario in the 1990s, forging a close alliance with Hugo Chávez, the former paratrooper who would redefine Venezuela’s political order. 

After Chávez’s election in 1998, Maduro rose steadily through the ranks — first as a National Assembly deputy, then foreign minister, and later vice president. His loyalty proved decisive when Chávez died of cancer in March 2013. Maduro was named successor and narrowly won a snap presidential election weeks later. 

Governing in crisis & Chávez’s shadow 

Maduro inherited a state built on oil dependence and Chávez’s charismatic authority. Lacking his predecessor’s magnetism, he relied on ideology, party machinery and the support of the military. His presidency coincided with a sharp fall in global oil prices, exposing Venezuela’s economic fragility. 

Years of mismanagement, rigid currency controls and declining production triggered hyperinflation, shortages of food and medicine, and one of the world’s largest migration crises, with more than seven million Venezuelans leaving since 2015. Critics accuse Maduro of authoritarianism, citing the sidelining of the opposition-controlled National Assembly in 2017, the creation of a loyalist Constituent Assembly, and repeated allegations of electoral manipulation. 

Human rights groups have documented arbitrary detentions, media restrictions and excessive force against protesters. Maduro has consistently rejected these claims, insisting Venezuela is under U.S.-led “economic warfare.” 

Sanctions, survival & global pressure 

International pressure intensified after Maduro’s disputed 2018 re-election, which the United States, European Union and several Latin American countries refused to recognise. They instead backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who declared himself interim president in 2019. While Guaidó’s challenge ultimately collapsed, Washington imposed sweeping sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector. 

Maduro endured through military loyalty, institutional control and alliances with Russia, China, Iran and Cuba. Over time, geopolitical shifts and energy market realities softened his isolation, leading to limited sanctions relief amid talks with the opposition and renewed Western interest in Venezuelan oil following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Domestically, Maduro adapted. Once a strict defender of state control, his government quietly relaxed price controls, tolerated dollarisation and allowed limited private enterprise. These measures stabilised inflation and revived parts of Caracas, though inequality widened and poverty persisted. Loyalists dominate the judiciary, electoral bodies and security forces, ensuring elections continue under conditions the opposition calls unfair. 

A presidency under new scrutiny 

Maduro’s grip on power faced renewed global scrutiny on Saturday after former US President Donald Trump claimed that Venezuela’s leader had been captured and was under US custody following a military operation targeting the country. The Venezuelan government has not confirmed the claim, and independent verification remains unclear, but the statement has added a dramatic new dimension to Maduro’s long-running standoff with Washington. 

Often combative and ideological, Maduro regularly invokes Chávez, blending socialist rhetoric with nationalism and sharp attacks on the West. His wife, Cilia Flores, a powerful political figure, is regarded as one of his closest advisers. As Venezuela grapples with recovery, migration pressures and geopolitical tension, Maduro’s future — and legacy — remain deeply contested.