Venezuela was once the richest countries due to its abundance of petroleum. In the year 1998 Hugo Chavez became president and it all went downhill. He took charge and changed the country drastically. He became a dictator until 2013 when he died of a heart attack. Nicolas Maduro quickly came into power, being Chavez's Vice President. Maduro was deteriorating the country and soon enough Venezuela did not provide what the people needed.
People wouldn't find enough food in the supermarket, medicines were limited and people felt unsafe roaming the streets. Juan Guaidó is a politician and on January 23rd he was sworn in as interim President of Venezuela. Many countries, including the US, have recognized him as President. In the eyes of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, he is not the President, due to their support of the Maduro regime.
Nicolas Maduro, Cilia FloresAriana Cubillos (AP)
President Trump preached about an America First policy during the election, but intervening in Venezuela's political conflict is a new approach for the President. Such as for European countries, they have also stood up and announced that they recognize the opposition leader as the interim president of Venezuela. Some countries in the EU have declared for Venezuela to have early elections to determine a permanent president. Maduro has spoken out and said that he will not step down as president or have elections. This has resulted in countries threatening to recognize Guiadó as president. Maduro has blamed all of his problems on the US, saying the world is following President Trump's lead. A major blow for Maduro was when a military official, who is stationed in Colombia, said he would follow all of Guiaddó's orders since he is now the leader.
As for now, Venezuela is still fighting for its freedom, but they do have hope and see a new horizon, a new beginning.
