Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

maduro regime

Can Venezuela's opposition leader María Corina Machado unseat Nicolás Maduro?
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

Can Venezuela's opposition leader María Corina Machado unseat Nicolás Maduro?

On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer speaks with Venezuela’s most prominent opposition leader, María Corina Machado, about the future of her country, the role of the United States, and why she believes Nicolás Maduro’s grip on power is weaker than it seems.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado stands with her hand over her heart, looking upward during a rally, surrounded by a crowd of supporters. Text art reads "GZERO World with Ian Bremmer – the podcast."
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast

Venezuela's opposition leader María Corina Machado says Maduro's days are numbered

Listen: On the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with Venezuela’s most prominent opposition leader, María Corina Machado, who remains in hiding. They discussed the future of her country, the role of the United States, and why she believes Nicolás Maduro’s grip on power is weaker than it seems.

Meet María Corina Machado, the woman who scares Venezuela's dictator
Ian Explains

Meet María Corina Machado, the woman who scares Venezuela's dictator

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado threatens the country's dictatorial regime like no opposition leader before her, and that's why she's in hiding. How does she keep the pressure on Nicolás Maduro's administration from her hideout? Ian Bremmer explains.

Maduro's dubious Venezuela win leaves Biden with few options
Quick Take

Maduro's dubious Venezuela win leaves Biden with few options

Ian Bremmer's Quick Take: There will be more pressure on a migration policy from the United States, from Joe Biden, from Kamala Harris, that is seen as a failure and is clearly the biggest policy vulnerability that Harris has in her election bid. And now the Biden administration is stuck with a failed policy.

A graph comparing Venezuela's GDP per capita with the average price of crude oil.
News

The Graphic Truth: Economic turmoil in Venezuela

Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves but a combination of corruption, mismanagement, and tough US sanctions since the Maduro regime came to power in 2013 has meant that the petrostate has failed to benefit from its vast reserves of liquid gold.

While high oil prices under the Chavez regime in the early 2000s gave a boost to Venezuela’s middle class, US sanctions first imposed in 2006 – and significantly ramped up under the Obama and Trump administrations – have cut Caracas off from US financial systems.

Economic hardship is rife, with a staggering 50% of people living in extreme poverty. Pervasive hopelessness has also led to one of the worst migrant crises in the world.

In a bid to offset a global energy crisis in 2022 as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Biden administration began lifting some sanctions on the Venezuelan oil sector. So how are things faring? We look at GDP per capita and corresponding oil prices since 1999.

COVID lockdowns in Colombia forcing refugees to return to Venezuela
Science & Tech

COVID lockdowns in Colombia forcing refugees to return to Venezuela

GZERO World takes viewers to Colombia as Venezuelan refugees risk everything once again—this time to cross back into their home country. As pandemic lockdowns and economic downturn threaten jobs and livelihood in Colombia, many are left with no choice but to return to Venezuela and an uncertain future. Kendry Fernando tells his story as he walks hundreds of miles with his family, looking for work, and considering a return home to repressive conditions in Maduro's Venezuela.