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120-587: The complaints by local NGOs and international organizations against the People's Liberation Operation forced Nicolás Maduro 's administration to abandon the security policy, but kept the same dynamic in a different security force, the Special Armed Forces (FAES). According to Luis Izquiel, specialist in citizen security, the FAES resulted the "same or worse" in human rights violations. The FAES have been accused of being

240-470: A constitutional crisis and another wave of protests in 2017 . As a response to the protests, Maduro called for a rewrite of the constitution, and the Constituent Assembly of Venezuela was elected in 2017 under voting conditions that many concluded were irregular. On 20 May 2018, presidential elections were held; President Maduro was sworn in on 10 January 2019 with widespread condemnation, and

360-675: A political crisis . The opposition gathered vote tallies that showed their candidate, Edmundo González , had won the most votes. Maduro heads an authoritarian government, and has been described as an autocrat and a dictator . Between 2013 and 2023, Venezuela dropped 42 places in the Press Freedom Index . According to estimations by the United Nations (UN) and Human Rights Watch , under Maduro's administration, more than 20,000 people have been subject to extrajudicial killings and seven million Venezuelans have been forced to flee

480-614: A " mole " working for the Cuba's Dirección de Inteligencia to approach Hugo Chávez, who was experiencing a burgeoning military career. In the early 1990s, he joined MBR-200 and campaigned for the release of Chávez when he was jailed for his role in the 1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts . In the late 1990s, Maduro was instrumental in founding the Movement of the Fifth Republic , which supported Chávez in his run for president in 1998. Maduro

600-527: A "impasse" between the Public Ministry and the Tribunal, as the reason why the same day he convened a Nation Defense Council to discuss the review of sentences 155 and 156. The following day, the Tribunal published clarifications on the sentences where the measures that transferred the parliament competences to the Tribunal and Maduro were partially suppressed. Jurists defined the clarifications as illegal, since

720-534: A "serious failure" and suspended the judge accordingly. The Tribunal was created under the 1999 Constitution of Venezuela , replacing the Supreme Court of Venezuela . For some years provisional statutes regulated the number of judges – initially 20, with three in each chamber except the constitutional, which had five – and their selection. The statutes were replaced in 2004 by an organic law (a law required to clarify constitutional provisions). The law also permitted

840-523: A 2013 interview that "my grandparents were Jewish, from a Sephardic Moorish background, and converted to Catholicism in Venezuela". Maduro has been married twice. His first marriage was to Adriana Guerra Angulo, with whom he had his only son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra , also known as "Nicolasito", who was appointed to several senior government posts (Chief of the Presidency's Special Inspectors Body, head of

960-570: A Constituent Assembly. On 17 May, the Tribunal decided on five nullity complaints from 2010 against the Reform of the Organic Law of Municipal Public Power, which replaced the Parochial Meetings with Communal Parochial Meetings. The Tribunal decided that communal councils could elect the members of the Parochial Meetings, implementing an indirect suffrage . The sentence has been qualified as

1080-567: A Czech national carrying sniper rifles and other munitions to allegedly assassinate Maduro. In a public statement, the Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace , Diosdado Cabello held the CIA and Spanish intelligence responsible for the coup attempt, calling it 'not surprising'. The minister shared that they had arrested yet another US military active-duty member, Wilber Joseph Castañeda, with evidence from his cellphone linking him to terrorist attacks during

1200-550: A May 2016 petition to the National Electoral Council (CNE) calling for a recall referendum, with the populace to vote on whether to remove Maduro from office. On 5 July 2016, the Venezuelan intelligence service detained five opposition activists involved with the recall referendum, with two other activists of the same party, Popular Will , also arrested. After delays in verification of the signatures, protestors alleged

1320-489: A call from Flores telling him that he would be appointed as justice. He confessed that he was appointed as justice of the Supreme Tribunal in 2015 for always have been loyal to chavismo . Among the declarations given, he affirmed that many of the court's decisions responded to orders from the ruling party, and stressed that Maikel Moreno , the current chief justice of the Supreme Tribunal, and Raúl Gorrín, president of

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1440-465: A contract with him for US$ 213 million in October 2019. Eight of the attackers were killed, with another thirteen, including two Americans, captured. On 6 March 2014, marking the 1 year anniversary of Hugo Chavez's death , Maduro announced on live television that he was breaking diplomatic and commercial relations with Panama after the country's president Ricardo Martinelli expressed support for

1560-512: A decline in Maduro's popularity. An opposition-led National Assembly was elected in 2015 and a movement toward recalling Maduro began in 2016, which was ultimately cancelled by Maduro's government; Maduro maintained power through the Supreme Tribunal , the National Electoral Council (CNE) and the military . The Supreme Tribunal removed power from the elected National Assembly, resulting in

1680-466: A decline in Venezuela's socioeconomic status, with crime, inflation, poverty and hunger increasing; analysts have attributed Venezuela's decline to both Chávez and Maduro's economic policies, while Maduro has blamed speculation and economic warfare waged by his political opponents. A 2018 Amnesty International report "accused Nicolas Maduro's government of committing some of the worst human rights violations in Venezuela's history". The report found

1800-409: A glamorous Christmas party that counted with an expensive feast, including French wine, taking place in the Supreme Tribunal seat. The images received considerable backlash from social networks, criticizing the costs of the party during the grave economic crisis in the country and the hypocrisy of the socialist regime. On 8 January 2019, Electoral Chamber justice Christian Zerpa defected and escaped to

1920-566: A grave violation of the direct, universal and secret vote of Article 63 of the Constitution. On 7 June 2017, the Constitutional Chamber issued sentence 378, where the Tribunal decided that the president is empowered to summon a Constituent Assembly without a previous consultative referendum. Once again the sentence was criticized for being considered violatory of the constitutional principles, specially sovereignty, since Article 5 of

2040-451: A la responsabilidad penal, civil y administrativa que corresponda any commission, artifice or action that has the purpose of nullifying the appointment of magistrates subverts the constitutional procedure for the removal of magistrates from the TSJ, and therefore, is void and void of all nullity and lacking validity, existence and legal effectiveness; and those who participate in them are subject to

2160-418: A large majority (nearly 100%) voted in favour of Venezuela's claims, though it had a low turnout. Maduro has faced numerous attempts at his life during his presidency. In the 2018 Caracas drone attack incident, while giving a speech to rally, Maduro was targeted by two drones that exploded during a speech. In September 2024, the Venezuelan police captured and arrested three Americans, two Spaniards, and

2280-408: A new presidential election be called to replace him, Venezuelans should vote for Maduro to succeed him. This was the first time that Chávez named a potential successor to his movement, as well as the first time he publicly acknowledged the possibility of his death. Chávez's endorsement of Maduro sidelined Diosdado Cabello , a former vice president and powerful Socialist Party official with ties to

2400-533: A political instrument of Nicolás Maduro, as well as being a death squad and of repressing the opposition. Between May and November 2017, of the 403 that security forces participated in the Caracas Metropolitan Area, 124 (31%) were attributed to the FAES, which at the same time were responsible for 62% of the killings caused by the National Police. PROVEA , a Venezuelan human rights group, denounced

2520-489: A rebellion trial. According to the sentence, "con los pronunciamientos efectuados en abril, los altos oficiales acusados no desconocieron al Gobierno, sino la orden dictada por el presidente de la República de aplicar el Plan Ávila, porque resultaba contraria a la protección de los derechos humanos de la ciudadanía y ello significaría una masacre". (With the pronouncements made in April, the accused high-ranking officials did not ignore

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2640-551: A recall would not occur until 2017, ensuring the current vice president would potentially come to power. In May 2017, Maduro proposed the 2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election , which was later held on 30 July 2017 despite wide international condemnation. The United States sanctioned Maduro following the election, labeling him as a "dictator", preventing him from entering the United States. Other nations, such as China, Russia, and Cuba offered their support to Maduro and

2760-584: A result of the ruling, the 2017 Venezuelan protests began surrounding the constitutional crisis, with the Bolivarian Supreme Tribunal of Justice reversing its ruling on 1 April 2017. After being stripped of power during the constitutional crisis and the call for a rewriting of the constitution by the Bolivarian government , opposition-led National Assembly of Venezuela created a Judicial Nominations Committee on 13 June 2017 to elect new members of

2880-497: A security checkpoint at JFK International Airport , and security personnel told Maduro that he was prohibited from doing so. Maduro later identified himself as a diplomat from the Venezuelan government, but officials still escorted him to a room for conducting secondary screening. At one point, authorities ordered Maduro and other Venezuelan officials to spread their arms and legs and be frisked, but Maduro and others forcefully refused. His diplomatic passport and ticket were retained for

3000-511: A time, and finally given back to him. Speaking at the Venezuelan mission to the UN after his release, Maduro said his detention by the US authorities was illegal and he filed a complaint at the United Nations. US and UN officials called the incident regrettable but said Maduro had been identified for "secondary screening". Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke denied that Maduro was mistreated, saying that there

3120-469: Is a Venezuelan politician serving as the 53rd president of Venezuela since 2013. Previously, he was the 24th vice president of Venezuela from 2012 to 2013, the minister of foreign affairs from 2006 to 2012, and the 3rd president of the National Assembly of Venezuela from 2005 to 2006. Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade union leader before being elected to

3240-497: Is coming is a counterattack of the people and the real institutions, revolutionary counterattack" and that "So the AN that appointed them has to assume its task, to evaluate them and whoever does not have the requirements will have to be removed from there.) The result was a new Supreme Tribunal of Justice Law with two purposes: establishing a procedure to suspend justices and increasing the number of justices from 20 to 30. The following year,

3360-488: Is legitimate. The Supreme Tribunal may meet either in specialized chambers (of which there are six: constitutional, political/administrative, electoral, civil, criminal, and social) or in plenary session. Each chamber has five judges, except the constitutional, which has seven. Its main function is to control, according to the constitution and related laws, the constitutionality and legality of public acts. The Supreme Tribunal's 32 magistrates (magistrados) are appointed by

3480-642: Is not covered completely. In 2018, a Board of Independent Experts designated by the Organization of American States (OAS) alleged that crimes against humanity have been committed in Venezuela during Maduro's presidency. In 2021, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced the opening of an investigation regarding the situation in the country . Nicolás Maduro Moros

3600-526: Is not recognized by most of Venezuela's neighbors. Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Venezuela) The Supreme Justice Tribunal ( Spanish : Tribunal Supremo de Justicia or TSJ ) is the highest court of law in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and is the head of the judicial branch. As the independence of the Venezuelan judiciary under the regime of Nicolás Maduro is questioned, there have recently been many disputes as to whether this court

3720-527: The 2008–09 Gaza War , recognizing and establishing diplomatic relations with the State of Palestine , a turnaround in relations with Colombia in 2008 (with Ecuador) and again in 2010 , recognizing Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states, and support for Bashar al-Assad during the Syrian Civil War . Temir Porras, a 2019 visiting professor at Paris Institute of Political Studies who

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3840-435: The 2024 Venezuelan presidential election . With widespread condemnation, President Maduro was sworn in on 10 January 2019. Minutes after he took the oath, the Organization of American States (OAS) approved a resolution declaring his presidency illegitimate, and calling for new elections. The National Assembly invoked a state of emergency , and some nations removed their embassies from Venezuela, with Colombia, and

3960-578: The Bolivarian Supreme Tribunal of Justice ruled that the National Assembly was "in a situation of contempt", because of the aforementioned rulings against the election of some of its members. It stripped the Assembly of legislative powers , and took those powers for itself; which meant that the Court would have been able to create laws. The court did not indicate if or when it might hand power back. As

4080-543: The Great Patriotic Pole coalition, introduced an appeal to the TSJ on 7 January 2016 to declare null all of the acts of the National Assembly. On 11 January, the Tribunal accepted the appeal and ruled in favor of it, declaring without effect all of the acts of the National Assembly "while it stayed in contempt" With each action of the National Assembly now in hands of the opposition, the ruling party introduced appeals to annul such actions, and through numerous sentences

4200-487: The Lima Group do not recognize Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela. The Supreme Tribunal rejected the National Assembly decisions, while the Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela in exile welcomed Guaidó as interim president. The United States Department of State issued a communication stating that Maduro had used unconstitutional means and a "sham electoral system" to maintain an unlawful presidency that

4320-628: The Metropolitan District of Caracas , as well as Caracas Metropolitan Police officers Henry Vivas and Lázaro Forero, applying the maximum sentence for their participation during the Llaguno Overpass events . The letter was published in September. Aponte fled Venezuela to Costa Rica in April 2012 after being accused of assisting Makled who said he had been paying Aponte US$ 70,000 per month related to joint business ventures. Aponte then contacted

4440-525: The National Assembly and serve non-renewable 12-year terms. Appointments are made by a two-thirds majority, or a simple majority if efforts to appoint a judge fail three times in a row. Under article 265 of the 1999 Constitution, judges may be removed by a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly, if the Attorney General, Comptroller General, and Human Rights Ombudsperson have previously agreed to

4560-400: The National Assembly in 2000. He was appointed to a number of positions under President Hugo Chávez , serving as President of the National Assembly from 2005 to 2006, as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2012 and as the vice president from 2012 to 2013 under Chávez. After Chávez's death was announced on 5 March 2013, Maduro assumed the presidency. A special presidential election

4680-646: The Republican Moral Council : the Ombudsman , the Public Ministry and the Comptroller General, which will do a second preselection that in turn will be submitted to the National Assembly, which will have a lapse of three plenary sessions to appoint the justices with the vote of two thirds of the deputies or a fourth plenary session with the vote of a simple majority in case of not getting two thirds of

4800-604: The United States rejected the electoral process. Two days later, on 25 January, the high court ordered the Electoral Council to exclude from the elections the Democratic Unity Roundtable , the most voted coalition in Venezuela's democratic history, arguing that in the coalition there were political parties that did not meet validation requirements. In December 2018, videos and pictures were leaked showing

4920-433: The armed forces , who had been widely considered a top candidate to be Chávez's successor. After Maduro was endorsed by Chávez, Cabello "immediately pledged loyalty" to both men. My firm opinion, as clear as the full moon – irrevocable, absolute, total – is ... that you elect Nicolas Maduro as President. I ask this of you from my heart. He is one of the young leaders with the greatest ability to continue, if I cannot. Upon

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5040-530: The death of Hugo Chávez on 5 March 2013, Maduro assumed the powers and responsibilities of the president. He appointed Jorge Arreaza to take his place as vice president. Since Chávez died within the first four years of his term, the Constitution of Venezuela stated that a presidential election had to be held within 30 days of his death. Maduro was unanimously chosen as the Socialist Party's candidate in

5160-518: The lame duck National Assembly, the majority of whom were Bolivarian supporters, filled the Supreme Tribunal of Justice with Maduro allies. The tribunal then quickly stripped three new opposition lawmakers of their National Assembly seats in early 2016, citing irregularities in their elections, thereby preventing an opposition supermajority which would have been able to challenge Maduro. The tribunal then approved several actions by Maduro and granted him more powers. In 2024, BBC and El País described

5280-622: The presidential elections . According to BBC Mundo , during Maduro's tenure as foreign minister, "he was considered a key player in pushing the foreign policy of his country beyond Latin American borders to approach almost any government that rivaled the United States." Venezuela's foreign policy stances during his term included ending unofficial relations with Taiwan in favor of the People's Republic of China , support for Libya under Muammar Gaddafi , breaking off diplomatic ties with Israel during

5400-574: The 167 seats. During the process, the "Citizen branch" issued a list of preselected candidates of previous processes, endorsed by the Ombudsman Tarek William Saab and the Comptroller Manuel Galindo. The National Assembly approved the candidates in a single plenary session on the night of 23 December 2015. Both the opposition and several jurists have described the appointment as illegal for not being performed according to

5520-568: The 1980s, by becoming an unofficial trade unionist representing the bus drivers of the Caracas Metro system. He was also employed as a bodyguard for José Vicente Rangel during Rangel's unsuccessful 1983 presidential campaign . At 24 years of age, Maduro resided in Havana with other militants of leftist organizations in South America who had moved to Cuba in 1986, attending a one-year course at

5640-550: The Amazonas state circuits. The Electoral Chamber of the Supreme Tribunal ordered the Assembly to disincorporate the deputies from Amazonas, but the Assembly, presided by Henry Ramos Allup , disobeyed responding that the deputies already had parliamentary immunity; The Attorney General, Luisa Ortega Díaz , later assured that the National Assembly was not in contempt, since contempt could only be applied to individuals and not institutions. After this, deputy Héctor Rodríguez , from

5760-474: The Assembly. The sentence was met with both domestic and international alarm from different personalities and institutions, some of which defined sentence 156 as a self-coup d'état . This included Attorney General Luisa Ortega Díaz, who during a press conferenced in the seat of the Public Ministry defined both sentences as a "rupture of the constitutional order". Maduro qualified the Attorney's declarations as

5880-687: The Attorney General introduced an electoral contentious appeal in the Electoral Chamber Constituent Assembly, and invoking Article 333 of the constitution she invited the Venezuelans to adhere to the appeal with the purpose of stopping the Constituent Assembly and preserve the validity of the current constitution. The following day the surroundings of the Tribunals were blocked by security forces, impeding citizens from adhering to

6000-470: The Bolivarian government saw the opposition being elected to hold the majority in the National Assembly of Venezuela for the first time since 1999 following the 2015 Parliamentary Election . As a result of that election, the lame duck National Assembly consisting of Bolivarian officials filled the Supreme Tribunal of Justice with their allies. Following months of unrest surrounding the recall referendum against President Maduro in 2016 , on 29 March 2017

6120-674: The Caribbean to increase. Brazil's president Lula da Silva supported Maduro's request to join BRICS. During the visit, Maduro also signed an agreement that included the training of Venezuelan astronauts, expressing his wish to send Venezuelans to the Moon. In the Israeli–Palestinian conflict , Maduro has frequently supported the Palestinian cause in international forums, declaring that " Jesus Christ

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6240-408: The Constituent Assembly elections. The presidential elections, whose original electoral date was scheduled for December 2018, was subsequently pulled ahead to 22 April before being pushed back to 20 May. Analysts described the poll as a show election , with the elections having the lowest voter turnout in the country's democratic era. Beginning six months after being elected, Maduro was given

6360-419: The Constitutional Chamber cannot make a review of the sentences for being res judicata (claim preclusion). On 1 May 2017, Maduro convenes a Constituent National Assembly based on a disputed interpretation of Articles 347, 348 and 349 of the constitution. Such call was met with preoccupation again, and many jurists argued that Maduro violated the constitution by assuming functions of the citizens to summon

6480-732: The Escuela Nacional de Cuadros Julio Antonio Mella, a centre of political education directed by the Union of Young Communists. During his time in Cuba, Maduro was instructed by Pedro Miret Prieto  [ es ] , a senior member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Cuba who was close to Fidel Castro . According to Carlos Peñaloza, Maduro was allegedly tasked by the Castro government to serve as

6600-440: The FAES and open an independent investigation of their actions. Few days after the report was published, Nicolás Maduro appeared publicly with FAES officers, praising them. Although Maduro's administration alleged that the report was plagued with "falsehoods", it has worked along Bachelet's Office. On a September 2020 update of the human rights situation of Venezuela, Bachelet stressed FAES' actions again and informed that according to

6720-656: The FAES of killing more than 100 people in low-income neighborhoods in the six months leading up to January 2019 during the protests in Venezuela . On 5 July 2019 the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet , released a report presenting evidence of the murder of at least 6,800 Venezuelans from January 2018 to May 2019 by various security forces including the FAES. The report included documentation of instances of torture, including waterboarding and electric shocks. The regime deemed it as "biased". Bachelet included among her report's recommendations to disband

6840-682: The Government, but the order issued by the President of the Republic to apply the Avila Plan, because it was contrary to the protection of the human rights of citizens and this would mean a massacre.) The sentence argued that there was a "power vacuum" after the Military High Command chief, General Lucas Rincón announced that Chávez had resigned from office. The discontent of the Venezuelan government

6960-813: The Minister of Foreign Affairs. In September 2006, while attempting to travel back to Venezuela via Miami, Florida , Maduro was briefly detained by Homeland Security officers at the John F. Kennedy International Airport for around 90 minutes, after paying for three airplane tickets in cash. Both Maduro and President Hugo Chávez were in New York City attending the 61st session of the UN General Assembly , where President Chávez called US President George W. Bush "the devil" during his speech . The incident began when Maduro tried to pick up an item that had been screened at

7080-411: The National Assembly to revoke the appointment of a judge, by a simple majority, where a judge had provided false information as to their credentials. In a controversial sentence, on 14 August 2002, after the 2002 Venezuela coup d'état , the Supreme Tribunal acquitted Division Generals Efraín Vásquez (Army) and Pedro Pereira (Aviation), Vice-admirant Héctor Ramírez and Counter admiral Daniel Comisso in

7200-573: The National Film School, and a seat in the National Assembly). He later married Cilia Flores , a lawyer and politician who replaced Maduro as president of the National Assembly in August 2006, when he resigned to become Minister of Foreign Affairs , becoming the first woman to serve as president of the National Assembly. The two had been in a romantic relationship since the 1990s when Flores

7320-437: The Public Ministry, seventy FAES officers had been indicted in several states. The 2019 documentary Colateral , directed by Venezuelan journalist Lucrecia Cisneros, explores the consequences of extrajudicial executions in Venezuela by security forces, including by the FAES. Nicol%C3%A1s Maduro Nicolás Maduro Moros ( Spanish pronunciation: [nikoˈlas maˈðuɾo ˈmoɾos] ; born 23 November 1962)

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7440-427: The Supreme Tribunal justice Eladio Aponte Aponte . Venezuela's opposition's spokesperson, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez , declared that the investigation would be obstructed in the country by the very public officials. On 16 April 2012, Aponte wrote an open letter from San José, Costa Rica , in which he claimed to have received orders and pressure from president Hugo Chávez to convict Iván Simonovis , security chief of

7560-435: The Supreme Tribunal of Justice, filling it with his supporters and adding measures so the government could dismiss justices from the court. In 2010, legislators from Chávez's political party appointed nine permanent judges and 32 stand-ins, which included several allies. They claimed that some judges may face reprisals if they rule against government interests. It has also been alleged that the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, with

7680-417: The Supreme Tribunal of Justice. On 12 July 2017, Ombudsman Tarek Saab , head of the Moral Council of Venezuela, said that the call for new magistrates would not be officially recognized by the Bolivarian government and that the magistrates already appointed by the lame duck Bolivarian National Assembly would instead continue to be recognized. Despite the rejection of recognition by the Bolivarian government,

7800-400: The Tribunal started limiting the Assembly actions established in the constitution, while at the same time it exercised actions constitutionally exclusive to the parliament with the justification of "legislative omission" due to the "contempt" of the Assembly. Starting 2017, in an ordinary plenary session, the National Assembly, then presided over by Julio Borges , officially disincorporated

7920-450: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration which provided him with a flight to the United States. As of 2017 , for a part of Venezuelan society, the legitimacy of the Supreme Tribunal is in question, especially the legitimacy of its origin, due to the appointment on 23 December 2015 of 13 main justices and 21 supplementary justices by a lame duck National Assembly with a ruling party majority, as well as its actions since. Article 264 of

8040-1051: The UN General Assembly and stated that the authorities detained Maduro over his links to the Venezuelan failed coup in 1992 , a charge that President Chávez denied. Prior to his appointment to the vice presidency, Maduro had been chosen by Chávez in 2011 to succeed him in the presidency if he were to die from cancer. This choice was made due to Maduro's loyalty to Chávez and because of his good relations with other chavistas such as Elías Jaua , former minister Jesse Chacón and Jorge Rodríguez . Bolivarian officials predicted that following Chávez's death, Maduro would have political difficulties and that Venezuela would experience instability. Chávez appointed Maduro Vice President of Venezuela on 13 October 2012, shortly after Chavez' victory in that month's presidential election . Two months later, on 8 December 2012, Chávez announced that his recurring cancer had returned and that he would be returning to Cuba for emergency surgery and further medical treatment. Chávez said that, should his condition worsen and

8160-415: The UN's report, calling it "neither objective, nor impartial" and listed what it believed were a total of 60 errors in the report. On 4 August 2018, at least two drones armed with explosives detonated in the area where Maduro was delivering an address to military officers in Venezuela. The Venezuelan government claims the event was a targeted attempt to assassinate Maduro, though the cause and intention of

8280-404: The United States saying Maduro was converting Venezuela into a de facto dictatorship. The president of the National Assembly, Juan Guaidó , was declared interim president on 23 January 2019; the US, Canada, Brazil and several Latin American countries supported Guaidó as interim president the same day; Russia, China, and Cuba supported Maduro. As of March 2019, over 50 countries, the OAS, and

8400-403: The United States, dissenting with the inauguration of Nicolás Maduro as president for a second period. From Orlando, Florida , Zerpa made a series of declarations that questioned the independence of powers and the transparency of the judiciary system in Venezuela. In an interview, Zerpa denounced that Cilia Flores handles the Venezuelan judiciary branch arbitrarily and that in 2015 he received

8520-407: The Venezuelan Constitution and Title V of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice Organic Law contemplate an extense procedure of more than thirty days for the appointment of the justices, both main and alternate, in which it is required to form a Judicial Nominations Committee integrated by members of the National Assembly and civil society, which will do a preselection of candidates that will be submitted to

8640-665: The Venezuelan Electoral Observatory and the Citizen Electoral Network, expressed their concern over the irregularities of the electoral schedule, including the lack of the Constituent Assembly 's competencies to summon the elections, impeding participation of opposition political parties, and the lack of time for standard electoral functions. Because of this, the European Union , the Organization of American States and countries including Australia and

8760-469: The act, finding it being done illegally with political pressures. On 14 June, the Tribunal once again dismissed the appeal, warning that: cualquier comisión, artificio o acción que tenga el objeto de anular la designación de magistrados subvierte el procedimiento constitucional para remoción de magistrados del TSJ, y por lo tanto, es írrito y nulo de toda nulidad y carente de validez, existencia y eficacia jurídica; y quienes participen en ellos están sujetos

8880-491: The appeal. On 12 June, the Tribunal declared inadmissible the appeal due to "inept pretensions accumulation". In response to the rejection of the Tribunal, the Luisa Ortega challenged the appointment of the 13 main justices and 21 alternates for considering a lack of suitability and bias in their actions, as well as aggravating the crisis in the country . She also requested the challenged justices to refraining to learn about

9000-602: The cause of the challenge, in accordance of Articles 55, 56 and 57 of the Supreme Tribunal Organic Law. The Attorney General explained that during the appointment procedure of the justices, the Moral Council did not convene an extraordinary sessions to evaluate the candidacy conditions in compliance of Article 74 of the Supreme Tribunal Law, but rather the candidates expedients were submitted and later she

9120-405: The civilian, military, economic, criminal, administrative, political, juridic and social measures considered necessary to prevent a state of conmotion...". On 29 March, the Tribunal published a second sentence, 156, attributed to itself the constitutional functions of the Assembly and decided on delegating them on the organisms that is considered pertinent, on the pretext of "legislative omission" of

9240-489: The constitution and the Organic Law, including the challenges period, their lack of responses and the omission of the definite selections of the candidates. According to a mid 2016 report issued by the Venezuelan NGO Acceso a la Justicia (Access to Justice), only one of seven justices of the Constitutional Chamber comply with the requirements for the position demanded by Venezuelan laws and their designation process

9360-517: The constitution states that it " resides intransferibly in the people ". Venezuela's protesters set fire to the executive directorate of the judiciary of the Supreme Court in the Chacao municipality on 12 June 2017. Violence broke out in protests at the Supreme Court over a bid to change the Constitution. On 27 June 2017, a helicopter attacked the TSJ building with gunfire and grenades. On 8 June,

9480-477: The corresponding criminal, civil and administrative responsibility. El 13 de junio la Fiscal solicitó al TSJ antejuicio de mérito contra 6 magistrados principales y 2 suplentes por conspiración para atentar contra la forma republicana de la nación, delito tipificado en el artículo 132 del Código Penal, al mismo tiempo que solicitó a los magistrados acusados inhibirse de conocer de la causa de conformidad con los artículos 55, 56 y 57 de la LOTSJ. The discontent with

9600-441: The country seeing a rebound from economic decline. The Economist wrote that Venezuela had also obtained "extra money from selling gold (both from illegal mines and from its reserves) and narcotics". On 3 May 2020, Venezuelan security forces prevented an attempt to overthrow Maduro by armed Venezuelan dissidents. The attempt was organised by an American private security company, Silvercorp USA , headed by Jordan Goudreau and

9720-404: The country. The UN Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela concluded that the country's justice system independence has been deeply eroded; the mission also identified frequent due process violations, including political external interference and the admission of evidence through torture. Most Venezuelan television channels are controlled by the state, and information unfavourable to the government

9840-450: The country. He is very much focused on consolidating his power among his own peers in Chavismo and much less on exercising or implementing a strategic vision for the country." However, following increased international sanctions during the Venezuelan crisis in 2019, the Maduro government abandoned socialist policies established by Chávez, such as price and currency controls, which resulted in

9960-536: The demonstrators during the protests that began on 12 February and called on the OAS to investigate. Relations were later restored in July 2014, after Vice President Jorge Arreaza attended the inauguration of President Juan Carlos Varela . On 11 August 2017, President Donald Trump said that he is "not going to rule out a military option" to confront the government of Maduro. On 23 January 2019, Maduro announced that Venezuela

10080-561: The election. When he assumed temporary power, opposition leaders argued that Maduro violated articles 229, 231, and 233 of the Venezuelan Constitution, by assuming power over the president of the National Assembly. The succession to the presidency of Maduro in 2013, according to Corrales and Penfold, was due to multiple mechanisms established by Maduro's predecessor, Chávez. Initially, oil prices were high enough for Maduro to maintain necessary spending for support, specifically with

10200-430: The executive branch managed to promote the increase to 32 justices, after which the Tribunal started the reviewed the original sentence. On 14 March 2005, the Tribunal overruled the decision. The opposition considers that the override of the sentence was caused by the changes made to the high court by a legislation change by lawmakers of the ruling party, which had a majority at the time. Government supporters consider that

10320-458: The explosions is debated. Others have suggested the incident was a false flag operation designed by the government to justify repression of opposition in Venezuela. Porras (Maduro's former chief of staff) said in 2019 that Maduro "delivered practically nothing in terms of public policy, in terms of direction" during his first term because, in Porras' opinion, "he does not have a clear vision for

10440-492: The first sentence was political and there were several reasons to start a trial of a coup d'état. During the 2006 judicial year beginning, the justices of the Supreme Tribunal stood up from the seats of the Criminal Chamber to chant " ¡Uh, ah, Chávez no se va! " (English: "Uh, ah, Chávez won't go!"), while president Chávez was present in the auditorium. The act was interpreted as a demonstration of political partiality by

10560-409: The government was intentionally delaying the process. The government, in response, argued the protestors were part of a plot to topple Maduro. On 1 August 2016, CNE announced that enough signatures had been validated for the recall process to continue. While opposition leaders pushed for the recall to be held before the end of 2016, allowing a new presidential election to take place, the government vowed

10680-532: The justices and the institution. On 20 August 2009, drug trafficker Walid Makled was captured in Cúcuta by the Colombian Administrative Department of Security (DAS) and later moved to Bogotá . Walid was requested by both the American and the Venezuelan anti-narcotics authorities. During his arrest, Makled was found with a credential of the Venezuelan military prosecution, allegedly issued by

10800-491: The later years of Maduro's presidency, pro-government police and military forces launched the " Liberation of the People Operation  [ es ] ", which they stated targeted street gangs and non-state paramilitary formations which they alleged had taken control of poor neighbourhoods. The operations reportedly resulted in thousands of arrests and an estimated 9,000 deaths, with the Venezuelan opposition claiming that

10920-468: The majority supporting Chávez, elected officials to the supposedly non-partisan National Electoral Council of Venezuela , despite the 1999 Constitution empowering the National Assembly of Venezuela to perform that action. This resulted in Chavistas making up a majority of the electoral council's board. After Chávez' death and with Nicolás Maduro as president, following the 2015 National Assembly election,

11040-474: The men were trained in Colombia. Goudreau claimed the operation had involved 60 troops, including two former US special forces members. The Venezuelan government claimed the United States and its Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) were responsible for the operation and had support from Colombia. Juan Guaidó denied involvement in the operation. Goudreau claimed that Guaidó and two political advisers had signed

11160-454: The military. Foreign ties that were established by Chávez were also used by Maduro as he applied skills that he had learned while serving as a foreign minister. Finally, the PSUV and government institutions aligned behind Maduro, and "the regime used the institutions of repression and autocracy , also created under Chávez, to become more repressive vis-à-vis the opposition". In April 2013, Maduro

11280-459: The modern era". Maduro has a strategic partnership with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 , Maduro discussed increasing cooperation with Russia. Due to the raised oil prices resulting from the conflict, conversations have begun between Maduro and US officials, suggesting the possibility of lifting of US sanctions on Venezuela and improved relations between

11400-555: The operations are actually a state instrument of repression. The UN subsequently released a report condemning the violent methods of the operation. Although the Venezuelan Government's Ombudsman , Tarek William Saab has admitted that his office received dozens of reports of "police excesses", he defended the need for the operations and stated that his office would be working alongside the police and military "to safeguard human rights". The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry has criticised

11520-479: The opposition-led National Assembly then voted 33 magistrates into office on 21 July 2017, separate from the Bolivarian government, forming the Supreme Tribunal of Justice in exile . On 23 January 2018, the Constituent National Assembly ordered the presidential elections should be scheduled in 2018 and before 30 April. Several Venezuelan NGOs, such as Foro Penal Venezolano , Súmate , Voto Joven ,

11640-518: The plasta). Chávez announced a strategy to revert the decision, creating a commission in the National Assembly to review the stay of the justices in the Supreme Tribunal, saying that "No nos vamos a quedar con esa, ahora lo que viene es un contraataque del pueblo y de las instituciones verdaderas, contraataque revolucionario" and that "Así que la AN que los nombró tiene que asumir su tarea, para evaluarlos y el que no tenga los requisitos habrá que sacarlo de allí". (We are not going to stay with that, now what

11760-422: The power to rule by decree by the pre-2015 Venezuelan legislature (from 19 November 2013 to 19 November 2014, 15 March 2015 to 31 December 2015) and later by the Supreme Tribunal (since 15 January 2016) to address the ongoing economic crisis in the country, with strong condemnation by the Venezuelan opposition claiming that the legislature's power had been usurped by the court. His presidency has coincided with

11880-460: The president of the National Assembly, Juan Guaidó , was declared interim president on 23 January 2019 by the opposition legislative body—kicking off a presidential crisis that spanned nearly four years and divided the international community . In 2024, he ran for a third term in an election which the Maduro-aligned CNE claimed he won —without providing evidence—casting Venezuela into

12000-528: The region." Days later on 27 November, the United States eased sanctions on Venezuela and allowed Chevron Corporation to temporarily work with the Venezuelan government. Maduro made an official state visit to Saudi Arabia in June 2023. He also visited China in September 2023, requesting China's support for Venezuela to join the economic bloc BRICS and saying he wanted China's investment in Latin America and

12120-536: The television channel Globovisión , are involved in corruption schemes. The Supreme Tribunal is divided in six chambers or instances that divide the work depending on its competences, which are the following: All of the chambers are part of the Plenary Chamber. Venezuela's judicial system has been deemed the most corrupt in the world by Transparency International in 2014. Human Rights Watch claimed that in 2004, President Hugo Chávez and his allies took over

12240-412: The three contested deputies, complying with the condition of the Supreme Tribunal to end the "contempt". However, the Supreme Tribunal did not withdraw the contempt arguing that the previous directive, presided by Ramos Allup, was the one that should have done the procedure. On 27 March 2017, in sentence 155, the Tribunal granted faculties of the National Assembly to Nicolás Maduro to legislate and "take

12360-481: The two countries. During the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference in November, multiple world leaders interacted with Maduro, including President of France Emmanuel Macron , Prime Minister of Portugal António Costa and American John Kerry , with President Macron addressing Maduro as "president" and stating "I would be happy if we could talk to each other for longer to engage in useful bilateral work for

12480-424: The violence was carried out especially in Venezuela's poor neighborhoods, and included "8,292 extrajudicial executions carried out between 2015 and 2017". In one year, 22% of homicides (4,667) were committed by security forces. Amnesty International's Erika Guevara-Rosas said, "The government of President Maduro should guarantee the right to life, instead of taking the lives of the country's young people." During

12600-427: The vote. The appointment of the justices was not done in accordance with the legal procedure, but with a hurried process carried out on 23 December 2015 by the lame duck National Assembly with a ruling party majority, when the legislature ended on 15 December, after being defeated on the 2015 parliamentary election , where the opposition, represented by the Democratic Unity Roundtable opposition coalition, gained 112 of

12720-414: Was Hugo Chávez 's lawyer following the 1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts and were married in July 2013 months after Maduro became president. While they have no children together, Maduro has three step-children from his wife's first marriage to Walter Ramón Gavidia; Walter Jacob, Yoswel, and Yosser. Maduro is a fan of John Lennon 's music and his campaigns for peace and love. Maduro has said that he

12840-486: Was Maduro's chief of staff during his tenure as foreign minister, said that in the early days of Chavismo , Maduro was considered "pragmatic" and a "very skilled politician" who was "good at negotiating and bargaining". Porras said the Maduro "was extremely effective at getting in touch with heads of state and getting the agreements (...) signed and achieved in a very rapid period of time". According to Rory Carroll , Maduro did not speak any foreign languages while serving as

12960-737: Was a young Palestinian unjustly crucified by the Spanish Empire ". On 7 November 2023, he condemned Israel 's actions in the Gaza Strip during the Israel–Hamas war and accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Maduro promoted a consultative referendum in Venezuela to support Venezuela's claim to the Essequibo region , which is disputed with, and controlled by, neighboring Guyana . The referendum took place on 3 December 2023, and

13080-552: Was born on 23 November 1962 in Caracas, Venezuela, into a working-class family. His father, Nicolás Maduro García, who was a prominent trade union leader, died in a motor vehicle accident on 22 April 1989. His mother, Teresa de Jesús Moros, was born in Cúcuta , a Colombian border town at the boundary with Venezuela. He was born into a leftist family and "militant dreamer of the Movimiento Electoral del Pueblo (MEP)". Maduro

13200-442: Was breaking ties with the United States following President Trump's announcement of recognizing Juan Guaidó , the Venezuelan opposition leader, as the interim President of Venezuela. Another diplomatic crisis with Panama occurred in 2018 . On 14 January 2019, days after Brazil recognised Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the country's interim president, Maduro called Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro "a Hitler of

13320-429: Was considerable; Chávez condemned the sentenced, stating "Esos once magistrados no tienen moral para tomar ningún otro tipo de decisión, son unos inmorales y deberían publicar un libro con sus rostros para que el pueblo los conozca. Pusieron la plasta". (Those eleven magistrates have no moral to make any other kind of decision, they are immoral and should publish a book with their faces so that the people know them. They put

13440-459: Was considered a person of interest by Venezuelan authorities in the kidnapping of William Niehous  [ es ] , an American businessman and head of Owens-Illinois in Venezuela, who was held hostage by leftist militants who would later become close to Hugo Chávez. Maduro found employment as a bus driver for many years for the Caracas Metro company. He began his political career in

13560-716: Was elected on the MVR ticket to the Venezuelan Chamber of Deputies in 1998 , to the National Constituent Assembly in 1999, and finally to the National Assembly in 2000 , at all times representing the Capital District . The Assembly elected him as Speaker, a role he held from 2005 until 2006. Maduro was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2006, and served under Chávez in that position until being appointed Vice President of Venezuela in October 2012, after

13680-570: Was elected president , narrowly defeating opposition candidate Henrique Capriles with just 1.5% of the vote separating the two. Capriles demanded a recount, refusing to recognize the outcome as valid. Maduro was inaugurated as president on 19 April, after the election commission had promised a full audit of the election results. In October 2013, he announced the creation of a new agency, the Vice Ministry of Supreme Happiness, to coordinate social programmes. Opposition leaders in Venezuela delivered

13800-422: Was handed the act to be signed, which she refused to do for not convening the session. On the following day, Ombudsman Tarek William Saab published a document with the alleged signature of Luisa Ortega, arguing that she did sign the act. Afterwards, María José Marcano, former secretary of the Moral Council, accused William Saab of lying and presenting a forged document, since neither Luisa Ortega or she had signed

13920-475: Was held in 2013, where Maduro was declared the winner with 50.62% of the vote as the United Socialist Party of Venezuela candidate. He has ruled Venezuela by decree since 2015 through powers granted to him by the ruling party legislature. Shortages in Venezuela and decreased living standards led to a wave of protests in 2014 that escalated into daily marches nationwide, repression of dissent and

14040-620: Was inspired by the music and counterculture of 1960s and 70s, mentioning also Robert Plant and Led Zeppelin . Maduro attended a public high school , the Liceo José Ávalos, in El Valle. His introduction to politics was when he became a member of his high school's student union. According to school records, Maduro did not graduate from high school. According to author and former Venezuelan Army Commander in Chief Carlos Peñaloza, Maduro

14160-460: Was irregular. On 14 June 2016 the National Assembly nullified the appointment carried out in 2015. Weeks after the parliamentary elections and after the oathtaking of the elected representatives in the National Assembly, seven complaints were presented to the electoral results to the Amazonas , Aragua and Yaracuy states, six of which were rejected and one was admitted, suspending the results of

14280-430: Was not evidence of abnormalities during the screening process. A UN diplomat said that Maduro was not authorized to speak publicly while his trip was delayed because he had shown up late without a ticket, prompting the screening. Maduro said the incident prevented him from traveling home on the same day. When he was informed of the incident, President Chávez said Maduro's detention was retaliation for his own speech at

14400-644: Was raised in Calle 14, a street in Los Jardines, El Valle, a working-class neighborhood on the western outskirts of Caracas. The only male of four siblings, he had three sisters, María Teresa, Josefina, and Anita. Maduro was raised as a Roman Catholic . In 2012, it was reported by the New York Times that he was a follower of Indian Hindu guru Sathya Sai Baba and previously visited the guru in India in 2005. He stated in

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