Pressure mounted on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday after an active Venezuelan general called on the armed forces to rebel against Maduro and to recognize the opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim chief.
The development came less than a week after the U.S. sanctioned the economically collapsing country’s key oil exports, in a bid to boost Guaido’s plans to hold new elections.
READ MORE: Top Venezuelan general recognizes Juan Guaido as president, encourages military to defect
Below is a timeline on how Venezuela‘s political crisis has evolved since the death of socialist leader Hugo Chavez, against a backdrop of hyperinflationary economic collapse in the OPEC nation:
March 2013: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who won over the country’s poor with so-called “21st century socialism” during his 14-year rule, dies from cancer at 58. His preferred successor, Vice President Nicolas Maduro, takes office.
April 2013: In presidential elections for a six-year term, Maduro narrowly defeats opposition candidate Henrique Capriles, who had lost to Chavez by a wider margin the year before. Capriles and allies say the vote was marred by fraud and call on supporters to take to the streets.
ARCHIVES: Maduro certified as election winner amid protests (April 13, 2013)
February 2014: Venezuelan security forces arrest well-known opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez on charges of fomenting unrest, after a wave of protests known as ‘The Exit,’ seeking to oust Maduro.
December 2015: The opposition Democratic Unity coalition wins control of Venezuela‘s legislative body, the National Assembly, for the first time in 16 years, riding a wave of popular discontent with a prolonged recession and rising inflation after oil prices collapsed.
WATCH: Trudeau says clause in Venezuela constitution shows Guaido is interim president
March 2017: Venezuela‘s Supreme Court, which has consistently sided with the ruling Socialist Party, announces it is taking over the functions of the National Assembly. The court quickly walks back the decision amid international outcry. But the event sparks months of anti-government protests that ultimately leave more than 100 dead.
July 2017: Venezuela calls a referendum, boycotted by the opposition, to approve the creation of an all-powerful legislative body called the Constituent Assembly. It is nominally tasked with rewriting the constitution but quickly takes over crucial legislative functions, leading to accusations that Maduro is undermining democracy.
February 2018: Mediation talks between the government and the opposition collapse amid disagreement over the timing of the next presidential election. The government announces the vote will be held in the first half of the year, and the main opposition parties pledge to boycott.
READ MORE: CUPE union blasts Canada for backing Venezuelan opposition leader, says rise smacks of ‘coup d’etat’
May 2018: Maduro cruises to re-election over a lesser-known opposition candidate amid low turnout and allegations of vote-buying by the government. The domestic opposition, United States and Lima Group of mostly right-leaning Latin American governments say they do not recognize the results.
January 2019: Maduro goes ahead with his inauguration for a second six-year term, ignoring the advice of several Latin American governments. Juan Guaido, a virtually unknown opposition lawmaker who assumed leadership of the largely toothless National Assembly days earlier, calls Maduro a “usurper.”
WATCH: Juan Guiado addresses Venezuela as people protest against Nicolas Maduro
January 2019: Guaido swears himself in as interim president at the opposition’s largest rally since 2017. He is recognized as the country’s legitimate president by the United States and many of Venezuela‘s neighbors.
January 2019: 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.
WATCH: Juan Guaido accuses Venezuela security services of threatening his family
February 2019: U.S. national security adviser John Bolton says military intervention in Venezuela is not imminent, and that “our objective is a peaceful transfer of power.” Colombian President Ivan Duque says the Venezuelan dictatorship’s days are numbered, and calls for free elections as part of the country’s transition process.
READ MORE: At Venezuela briefing, John Bolton holds up note saying ‘5,000 troops to Colombia’
February 2019: A high-ranking Venezuelan general calls on the armed forces to rebel against Maduro and recognize Guaido as interim president. “People of Venezuela, 90 percent of the armed forces of Venezuela are not with the dictator, they are with the people of Venezuela,” General Francisco Yanez of the air force’s high command said in a video circulating on Twitter on Saturday.
February 2019: Maduro proposes to bring forward parliamentary elections to this year, as he seeks to crush the threat posed by Guaido. The parliamentary elections had been scheduled for 2020.
- Toronto’s offices are emptying out. The city wants to know what to do with them
- Capital gains changes could have ‘irreversible’ effects, business groups warn
- Could notwithstanding clause be used on abortion? Poilievre’s office says ‘never’
- U.K. takes aim at allies like Canada, wants higher NATO targets
Comments