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Bus driver to Venezuela's ruler for over 13 years: Who is Nicolas Maduro?
Nicolas Maduro ruled Venezuela for over 13 years before being captured during a US military operation on Saturday.
Overnight US military operations in Venezuela ended in capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. The couple, who have been flown to New York, are likely to be imprisoned in federal custody and face criminal charges in connection with a Justice Department indictment accusing them of engaging in narco-terrorism conspiracy.
Follow updates on US strikes over Venezuela
Maduro ruled Venezuela for over 13 years before being captured following an extraordinary US military operation on Saturday. The 63-year-old South American leader rose to power from humble beginnings and is know to be a former bus driver and a union activist.
His capture comes after months of pressure from Trump to leave office amid allegations that Maduro ran drug cartels.
First visuals of Maduros in handcuffs have been released by the US where he is seen staging the 'Perp-walk' in the hallway of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as he was led to custody.
Nicolas Maduro's humble beginnings
Maduro, son of a trade union leader, was born into a working-class family on November 23, 1962. His political career started as president of the student union at José Ávalos high school in El Valle, a working-class neighbourhood on the outskirts of the Caracas city, according to The Guardian. But Maduros never graduated, the report adds, citing official records, adding that he was remembered as an “imposing and conciliatory figure”.
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He worked as a bus driver during the time army officer Hugo Chavez led a failed coup attempt in 1992, according to Reuters. He went on to campaign for Chavez’s release from prison and became a fervent supporter of his leftist agenda. In Chavez's 1998 election, he secured a seat in the legislature, as per the report.
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A close aide of Chavez, he became president of the National Assembly and then foreign minister and helped strengthen Venezuela's global position with oil-financed assistance programs.
Chavez named him his successor and Maduro was narrowly elected president in 2013 following Chavez's death. He was mocked for his working-class background and was portrayed as a “loud-mouthed clown” who tried copying Chavez but lacked his leadership qualities, The Guardian wrote about Maduro.
Venezuela's faltering economy and rigged polls under Maduro
Despite a spectacular start and quick rise in politics, Venezuela's economy under his rule started to falter marked by hyperinflation and chronic shortages. Maduro's tenure was also marred by alleged election rigging, widespread food scarcity and human rights abuses, including violent crackdowns on protests in 2014 and 2017. As economy struggled, millions of Venezuelans emigrated abroad.
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Venezuela under his rule faced aggressive sanctions by the US and other powers and in 2020 Washington indicted him on corruption and other charges, as per Reuters. However, Maduro rejected the accusations.
He took oath for his third term in 2025, but the elections were widely dubbed as fraudulent. The protest against the re-election faced a brutal crackdown as thousands were jailed.
Maduro's repressive measures were highlighted by the award of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to opposition leader Maria Corina Machado who has been his vocal critic and was forced into hiding. She was not allowed to run in last year's presidential elections. She faced threats of arrest from the Maduro government as it accused her of calling for a foreign invasion.
