[20210526]IF11216_委内瑞拉：解决政治危机的国际努力.pdf

https:/crsreports.congress.gov Updated May 26, 2021Venezuela: International Efforts to Resolve the Political CrisisBackground Venezuela, still under the authoritarian rule of Nicols Maduro, is mired in a deep economic and humanitarian crisis worsened by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Maduronarrowly elected in 2013 after the death of Hugo Chvez (president, 1999-2013)and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) took de facto control of the National Assembly, the last independent branch of government, in January 2021. Maduro has resisted U.S. and international pressure to step down. Meanwhile, international support for opposition leader Juan Guaid, the former National Assembly president once regarded as interim president by the United States and nearly 60 countries, appears to have stagnated. Maduro has consolidated political control over Venezuela, but the countrys economy and social conditions continue to deteriorate. Since April 2021, the Maduro government has made gestures that some observers say demonstrate a willingness to negotiate with the opposition in exchange for relief from U.S. sanctions. Maduro allowed the World Food Program to begin operating,