The left-wing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Moros was born on 23 November 1962, in Caracas, Venezuela, into a working-class family. 

His father, Nicolás Maduro García, was a prominent trade union leader affiliated with leftist movements, while his mother, Teresa de Jesús Moros, was born in Cúcuta, Colombia (near the Venezuelan border). 

Maduro won a narrow special election in April 2013 (50.6 percent vs. opposition candidate Henrique Capriles’ 49.1 percent), becoming president amid allegations of irregularities. 

He was reelected in 2018 in a vote widely criticized as fraudulent and boycotted by much of the opposition, leading over 50 countries (including the US) to refuse recognition and support interim president Juan Guaidó in 2019.

In the July 2024 presidential election, the government-controlled National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner with about 51 percent of the vote against opposition candidate Edmundo González. 

However, independent exit polls, opposition tallies, and international observers indicated González had won by a wide margin, sparking protests, repression, and further non-recognition by the US and others.

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Supporters credit him with defending socialism against foreign interference, while critics blame his policies for the crisis. 

On 3 January, US President Donald Trump announced that US forces conducted a large-scale military strike in Venezuela, claiming Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured by Delta Force and flown out of the country for trial on criminal charges including drug trafficking. 

Venezuelan officials, including Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, reported Maduro as missing and demanded proof of life. 

This follows escalating US pressure, including sanctions and strikes on alleged drug-related targets.