Nicolás Maduro
Venezuela · 2013 — present
Est. victims: 7M+ fled, thousands dead
Maduro was a bus driver and union activist before joining Hugo Chávez's movement. He became foreign minister (2006–2013) and vice president. When Chávez died in 2013, Maduro won a disputed election and continued Chavismo's authoritarian drift. He has overseen economic collapse, hyperinflation, and mass emigration while cracking down on dissent.
Rise of dictatorship
Disqualified opposition, sham re-election
Leading opponent María Corina Machado was banned. Edmundo González ran as substitute; Maduro claimed victory in a process widely seen as neither free nor fair.
Guaidó challenge, failed uprising
2017–2025: Collapse and migration
Fake constituent assembly, opposition outlawed
Maduro convened a loyalist assembly to rewrite the constitution and bypass the opposition-controlled parliament. Dozens killed in protests; many opposition figures arrested or exiled.
Protests suppressed, opposition leaders jailed