Last Saturday, U.S. forces captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife and delivered them to New York City to stand trial on charges of drug trafficking and narcoterrorism. Maduro may be gone, but his regime remains intact with his appointed deputy now at the reins. The path the United States is carving is perilous. “It risks leading not to democracy,” writes Juan Miguel Matheus in a new Journal of Democracy online exclusive, “but to a new and more cynical form of autocratization in which autocrats hang on by acting as stewards of outside economic and strategic interests.”
Read Matheus’s analysis along with the following Journal of Democracy essays, which explore events in Venezuela in the year and a half since Maduro stole the presidential election from the country’s legitimate opposition.
Why the United States Shouldn’t Run Venezuela
Nicolás Maduro has been removed, but the dictatorship he led remains. If this period of American tutelage drags too long, it will be a recipe for disaster for Venezuela and the United States.
Juan Miguel MatheusHow Maduro Stole Venezuela’s Vote
Nicolás Maduro brazenly stole Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election, despite a free, fair, and transparent ballot count that showed a clear opposition victory. Why would an autocrat want to maintain one of the world’s best voting systems?
Javier Corrales and Dorothy KronickHow Venezuela Actually Becomes a Democracy
The South American country may be on the verge of real change. But it isn’t going to descend into civil-war chaos like Libya. It will be difficult, imperfect, and far better than what Venezuelans have had to endure.
José Ramón Morales-ArillaWill Maduro’s Autocratic Allies Desert Him?
Nicolás Maduro’s regime has long relied on support from China, Cuba, Russia, and other authoritarians to stay afloat. But now that the United States is stepping up the pressure, will his fellow autocrats leave him high and dry?
Adriana Boersner-HerreraHow Venezuela Became a Gangster State
Nicolás Maduro is a mafia boss, not a president, and the Venezuelan government is now a criminal enterprise with the power of a state. It poses a threat to democracies everywhere.
Juan Miguel MatheusVenezuela’s Lost Year
A year ago Nicolás Maduro stole Venezuela’s election and entrenched his power by jailing and killing those who opposed him. But the world’s democracies don’t need to sit on the sidelines. Here is how they can raise the costs for Maduro.
Eric Farnsworth
Subscribe here to have curated collections like this one and other Journal of Democracy news delivered directly to your inbox.
Image credit: XNY/Star Max/GC Images