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handle is hein.crs/govejpc0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con gre SianaI Research Servk informing Ih legisIatve dIebate sne 1914 Updated December 2, 2022 Venezuela: Political Crisis and U.S. Policy Venezuela, under the authoritarian rule of Nicolis Maduro, remains in a deep economic and humanitarian crisis. Maduro has consolidated power over all of Venezuela's institutions since his 2013 election after the death of President Hugo Chivez (1999-2013). Maduro's United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) took control of the National Assembly after flawed parliamentary elections in December 2020; the PSUV and allies also won 19 of 23 gubernatorial races in November 2021 state-level elections. Maduro has quashed dissent and resisted U.S. and international pressure to step down since his reelection in a 2018 presidential vote widely deemed fraudulent. Domestic and international support for opposition leader Juan Guaidd, the former National Assembly president once regarded as interim president by nearly 60 other countries, has dissipated. Opposition parties, organized since 2021 under a Unitary Platform that includes Guaid6's party among many others, resumed negotiations with Maduro officials in November 2022 to create better conditions for presidential elections due in 2024. The Biden Administration and other donors have offered limited sanctions relief to the Maduro government if those negotiations lead to improved humanitarian conditions and political and human rights. Political Situation Maduro has used security forces, buoyed by corrupt courts, to quash dissent. His government has rewarded allies, particularly in the security forces, by allowing them to earn income from illegal gold mining, drug trafficking, and other illicit activities. Those forces have detained and abused Maduro's opponents, including military officers, opposition politicians, and civic leaders. As of November 22, 2022, the government had imprisoned 268 political prisoners, according to Foro Penal, a Venezuelan human rights group. The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has documented, and the International Criminal Court is investigating, extrajudicial killings and other grave crimes committed by Venezuela's security forces. The Venezuelan opposition has been weak and divided, with many of its leaders in exile. Guaidd challenged Maduro's authority in 2019, but Guaid6's support has since faded. After Norway-led negotiations stalled in mid-2019, the Maduro government persecuted Guaid6's supporters. In April 2021, Guaidd called on opposition parties and civil society to form a Unity Platform. In late November 2022, the Unity Platform announced the resumption of Norway- mediated talks with Maduro officials that had been suspended since October 2021. The two sides also announced an agreement to establish a $3 billion U.N.- administered fund for humanitarian programs supported, in part, by Venezuelan assets frozen abroad. The Biden Administration issued a new license for Chevron to begin limited operations in Venezuela after talks resumed. It is unclear whether Maduro will make significant concessions without significant U.S. sanctions relief. Economic and Humanitarian Crisis By most accounts, Maduro's government has mismanaged the economy and engaged in massive corruption, exacerbating the effects of a decline in oil production. Between 2014 and 2021, Venezuela's economy contracted by 80%, according to estimates by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to a February 2021 Government Accountability Office report, sanctions imposed by the United States in response to Maduro's authoritarian actions, particularly sanctions targeting Venezuela's oil industry, contributed to the economic crisis. Since 2021, hyperinflation has abated and higher oil prices driven by Russia's invasion of Ukraine appear to be driving a nascent economic recovery. Well before the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Venezuelans were facing a lack of food, medicine, health care, and access to social services. In 2022, an estimated 7.7 million Venezuelans required humanitarian assistance, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development. Food insecurity remains a challenge, mainly due to the price of food rather than a lack of availability. Many households do not have reliable access to potable water, and interruptions in electrical service and gas supplies are common. With a collapsed health system, overall health indicators, particularly infant and maternal mortality rates, have worsened. Previously eradicated diseases such as diphtheria and measles also have become a major concern, along with COVID-19. As of November 2022, U.N. agencies estimated that more than 7.1 million Venezuelans had left the country (with 26.9 million remaining). Some 6 million of these migrants fled to other Latin American and Caribbean countries, but a record 187,700 arrived at the U.S. border in FY2022. Migrants have faced obstacles keeping jobs and accessing health care; they are vulnerable to human trafficking and other abuses. In 2021, Colombia and Peru began granting temporary protected status to Venezuelans. International Response The international community, once divided on policies toward Venezuela, has coalesced behind support for Maduro-opposition negotiations. In 2019, the United States, European Union (EU), Canada, and most Western Hemisphere countries recognized Juan Guaidd as interim president. They exerted economic and diplomatic pressure on Maduro to leave office. Other countries, including China, Russia, Cuba, Turkey, and Iran, have supported the Maduro government. Russia has supported the oil industry in Venezuela, helped Venezuela

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