Nicolás Maduro

**Nicolás Maduro Moros** (; born 13 November 1962) is a Venezuelan/Colombian politician who has been the 48th President of Venezuela from 2013 until his *de facto* removal from power by the United States in January 2026. He was previously the 20th Vice President of Venezuela from 2012 and the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2013. Maduro was also the 3rd President of the National Assembly of Venezuela from 2005 to 2006. He became the acting president following the death of Hugo Chávez.

## Personal life
Maduro was born on 13 November 1962 in Cúcuta, Colombia. Maduro was raised as a Roman Catholic, and his paternal family ancestry is of Sephardic Jewish origin. He is married to Cilia Flores. Before Maduro became a politician, he was a bus driver in Caracas.

In March 2016, Maduro endorsed United States senator Bernie Sanders for President of the United States.

## Presidency
On 14 April 2013, Maduro was elected President of Venezuela, narrowly defeating Henrique Capriles, with 1.5% of the vote separating the two candidates. Capriles demanded a recount, refusing to recognize the outcome as valid. However, the result was valid and Maduro was sworn in as president five days later on 19 April.

In 2013, Maduro denied rumors of homophobia. He stated that if he were gay he would "shout it to the four winds". He said that "I would have no problem loving whoever I had to love with my heart". He also stated that the Chávez government had supported LGBT rights for the past 14 years, promoting inclusion and non-discrimination.

In January 2017, Maduro endorsed the murder of Venezuelan dissident Óscar Pérez in what has been named as the *Raid in El Junquito*.  The international media and some politicians & citizens all over the world defined what has happened in El Junquito as a massacre. They harshly criticized about Maduro & his government.

Despite calls to resign as president when his first term ended on 10 January 2019, Maduro inaugurated himself. This caused many people to be angry across the world and caused the National Assembly to call for a State of emergency. Many countries removed their embassies from Venezuela. Many believe that his election was illegitimate, they claimed that by retaking power, Maduro was making Venezuela into an illegal *de facto* dictatorship.

In 2022, Maduro has told CGTN that despite the crisis in the country, the economy has grown and will expect to grow more in the coming years. He also said that the crisis is going down.

In March 2024, Maduro has confirmed that he'll be running for a third term in the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election.

### U.S. capture and arrest
In the early hours of 3 January 2026, the United States launched a military operation in Venezuela. A large-scale strike was carried out, with Donald Trump, the president of the United States, announcing around 4:20 am EST that Maduro and his wife were captured and had been flown out of the country. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Maduro was to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States. The mission was carried out by the US Army's Delta Force. Venezuelan vice president Delcy Rodríguez said she did not know where Maduro was and asked for proof that he was alive.

Maduro was taken into federal custody to face the 2020 narco-terrorism charges in New York state. U.S. attorney general Pam Bondi said that both Maduro and his wife would face charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy and bringing cocaine into the United States.

## Notes
## References
## Other websites
*Ministerio del Poder Popular para Relaciones Exteriores  (Venezuelan Foreign Ministry) 
*Biography by CIDOB