A dictator is a ruler with absolute power, unchecked by laws, rules by force, intimidation, and military coup. When talking about Nicolás Maduro’s totalitarian regime, these are the only words to describe him.
Born November 23, 1962, in the capital, Caracas, Venezuela, to a working-class family, Maduro had to fight his way to money. Being the only son out of four kids, Maduro was under the significant influence of his father’s politics.
The start of Nicolás Maduro’s rise to political power started in organized labor unions. In the early 80s, Maduro joined the Socialist League of Venezuela, which is a Marxist-Lenin Party.
The Socialist League of Venezuela was a far left political party. Marxist-Lenin was a communist ideology that was formed by Stalin in the Soviet Union and is used in many communist countries, including China, Cuba, Laos, and Vietnam.
While Trump’s decision to remove Maduro can be morally justified. However, politically his actions were reprehensible.
Appointed by the late former president Hugo Chavez, Maduro was inspired by his no democracy campaigns. However, Maduro got blinded by money and power and took the already bad authoritarian rule by Chavez to a new level, killing 43 protestors who protested in favor of Nobel Peace Prize winner Marina Corina Machado.
In 2018, Maduro was reelected despite the tanking economy and many protests of a dictatorship, but 45 countries, including the United States, did not recognize him.
In 2024, he won the Presidential election again and was just at the start of his 6-year term. However, it is said that his candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, won 70% of the votes and should be the rightful president of Venezuela.
On January 3, 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump captured Nicolás Maduro despite not having congressional permission. Maduro’s capture was based on a couple of things, but the two biggest were his criminal indictments and Trump’s desire for oil.
“I think it’s good that he’s gone because Maduro was a dictator, but I don’t think he should have got involved since Trump didn’t have permission,” said Diego Caamono-Martinez (11).
Opinions across the world are very split, with around 40% of Americans opposing the capture while around 89.5% of Venezuelans supported Maduro’s removal from office.
“What’s legal is legal and Trump’s capture of Maduro was not,” Sasha Benn (11) said.
As of Jan. 6, Maduro is being held inside a Brooklyn jail while he awaits his next court date, March 17, where he will be tried for narco-terrorism, weapon possession, and conspiracy to import cocaine.
