-
Hugo Chavez Dies
Hugo Chavez was a popular ruler in Venezuela during his 14-year rule and up until his death in 2013 when Nicholas Maduro took over. -
Maduro Becomes President
Maduro beats Henrique Capriles in the election by a small margin and becomes president for a six-year term. Capriles thought the election was rigged and so he wanted his supporters to protest. -
Leopoldo Lopez Arrested
Venezuelan security forces arrest opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez. Many Venezuelans protest against this to try and oust Maduro. -
Oil Prices Collapse
Democratic Unity coalition, who opposes Maduro, gets control of Venezuela’s National Assembly after oil prices collapse. -
Venezuelan Supreme Court Takes Control
Venezuela's Supreme Court, who sides with the ruling Socialist Party, takes over the functions of the National Assembly. The event sparks months of anti-government protests. -
Maduro Undermines Democracy
The Socialist Venezuelan government approves the creation of an all-powerful Constituent Assembly. The Constituent Assembly takes over crucial legislative functions, which causes people to accuse Maduro of undermining Democracy. -
Presidential Election Conflict
The Socialist and Democratic parties can't come to an agreement for when the next presidential election should be held. The government announces the vote will be held in the first half of the year, so the main opposition parties want to boycott the election. -
Maduro Re-elected
Maduro is re-elected over a lesser-known opposition candidate mostly because of low turnout and there were allegations of vote-buying by the government. Latin American governments say they do not recognize the results. -
Juan Guaido Assumes Leadership
Maduro goes ahead with his inauguration for a second six-year term, ignoring the advice of many Latin American governments. Juan Guaido was a virtually unknown opposition lawmaker who assumed leadership instead of Maduro, and called Maduro a "usurper". -
Guaido claims presidency
Guaido swears himself in as president at the opposition's largest rally since 2017. He is recognized as the country's legitimate president by the US and many of Venezuela's neighbors. -
US cuts off oil exports
The United States implements sanctions preventing state oil company PDVSA from collecting proceeds on crude exports to U.S. refineries, cutting off the main source of Venezuelan government revenue to place pressure on Maduro to step aside in favor of Guaido.
