War in Ukraine puts Nicolas Maduro back on the world stage
In this edition, the war in Ukraine and an international scramble for energy alternatives has helped Nicolás Maduro prosper.
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THE STORY
For much of the decade that Nicolás Maduro has been the president of Venezuela, he has been an international pariah. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been a major reason why once hostile governments are now warming to the Venezuelan despot. Rising oil prices, inflation, the cost-of-living crisis and a global scramble for energy has made Maduro attractive again to the West.
As recently as June 2022, Maduro allied Venezuela with Iran as part of the so-called “Axis of Resistance” against the United States and Israel. Pummeled in part by U.S. sanctions, Venezuela’s economy under Maduro’s watch has effectively collapsed. Since 2013, over seven million Venezulans, especially the educated middle class, have fled.