A timeline of dictator Nicolás Maduro’s rise and fall in Venezuela

The Venezuelan dictator, captured by the Trump administration, worked as a bus driver and union organizer before rising through the South American country’s political system and eventually becoming a wanted man by the United States, with a $50 million reward for information leading to his arrest.

Nicolás Maduro was “captured and flown out of the country” early Saturday following a “large-scale strike” by the US military, according to the president Donald Trump.

The actions mark a dramatic decline for Maduro, who is serving his third term as Venezuela’s president. He led an administration grappling with economic hardship, mass protests, disputed election results and allegations of drug trafficking.

Maduro was born on November 23, 1962 in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. communist cuba In 1986 he received ideological training for a year; his only education after high school.

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After returning home, Maduro found work as a bus driver and union organizer. He embraced the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez after the then-military paratrooper led a failed coup against his unpopular austerity government in 1992. Around the same time, he met his longtime partner, Cilia Flores, who was the imprisoned leader’s lawyer.

After Chavez was released and elected president in 1998, Maduro, a young lawmaker, helped advance his agenda of redistributing the OPEC nation’s oil wealth and political power.

Maduro was elected in 2000 National Assembly of Venezuela. He later became president of the National Assembly in 2005.

Later in 2006, Chavez appointed Maduro as Venezuela’s foreign minister. Six years later, Maduro was appointed vice president of Venezuela.

When Maduro came to power in 2013 following the death of his mentor from cancer, he struggled to bring order to the suffering country. Without “El Comandante” in office, the economy entered a death spiral; It shrank by 71% from 2012 to 2020, inflation exceeded 130,000%, and dissidents and rivals within the government saw an opportunity.

Less than a year into Maduro’s presidency, hardline opponents have launched demonstrations demanding his departure.

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Government supporters display posters of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, right, and former President Hugo Chávez in downtown Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Maduro was captured and flown out of the country. (Matias Delacroix/AP)

Relying heavily on Venezuelan security forces, Maduro suppressed the protests. But when supermarket shelves were emptied by widespread shortages, it resumed with greater intensity three years later, killing more than 100 people. The International Criminal Court launched a criminal investigation into possible crimes against humanity in 2018.

The pressure continued in the 2018 presidential race, which was boycotted by the opposition after some leaders were banned from candidacy. Dozens of countries, led by the United States, condemned Maduro’s first re-election as illegitimate and recognized National Assembly president Juan Guaidó as the elected leader of Venezuela.

“Since 2019, more than 50 countries, including the United States, have refused to recognize Maduro as the president of Venezuela,” the State Department said. Maduro’s profile is on the website.

“Maduro helped lead and ultimately manage the Sun Cartel, a Venezuelan drug trafficking organization composed of high-level Venezuelan officials. As he gained power in Venezuela, Maduro joined a corrupt and violent terrorist organization. narco-terrorism conspiracy “We are in cooperation with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which is defined as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.”

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Demonstrators clash with police while protesting the government of President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on February 22, 2014. (Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

The State Department continued: “Maduro negotiated multi-ton shipments of FARC-produced cocaine; directed the Sun Cartel to provide military-grade weapons to the FARC; coordinated with narcotics traffickers in Honduras and other countries to facilitate large-scale drug trafficking; and sought assistance from the FARC leadership in training an unsanctioned militia group that essentially functioned as an armed forces unit for the Sun Cartel.”

Additionally, “In March 2020, Maduro was charged in the Southern District of New York with narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.”

Maduro was re-elected in 2024 in another disputed election.

Then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the time: “Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people, that Edmundo González Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election.”

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Acting President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro waves to supporters as he leaves after voting for the successor of the late President Hugo Chavez in Caracas on April 14, 2013. (Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

Maduro later sent a message fiery opening speech In January 2025, he likens himself to the biblical David fighting Goliath and accuses his rivals in the US and their supporters of trying to turn his inauguration into a “world war”.

He said the failure of his enemies to prevent him from taking office for a third six-year term was a “great victory” for Venezuela’s peace and national sovereignty.

“I was not made president by the U.S. government or the pro-imperialist governments of Latin America,” he said after being donned with a sash consisting of the red, yellow and blue colors of the Venezuelan flag. “I come from the people, I am from the people, and my strength comes from history and the people. And I owe my whole life, body and soul, to the people.”

Months later, the Chief Prosecutor Pam Bondi He announced that a reward of 50 million dollars will be given to anyone who provides information leading to the arrest of Maduro.

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“Maduro uses foreign terrorist organizations such as TdA (Tren de Aragua), Sinaloa, and the Cartel of the Suns (Cartel de Soles) to bring deadly violence to our country,” Bondi said in a video message published in August 2025. he said. “He is one of the world’s biggest drug traffickers and a threat to our national security.”

Fox News’ Michael Sinkewicz, Lucas Y. Tomlinson, Louis Casiano and The Associated Press contributed to this report.