Venezuela in Light of Anti-American Parties and Affiliations in Latin America
CARACAS, Venezuela — A new cartoon on Venezuelan state TV portrays President Nicolás Maduro as a caped crusader who fights Yankee imperialism with an iron fist. It's called Súper Bigote — "Super Mustache."
The series celebrates Maduro's staying power nearly three years after opponents were forecasting his imminent demise. Despite U.S. sanctions, the country's worst economic crisis in history and dismal job-approval ratings, Maduro, who has been president since 2013, has actually tightened his grip on power.
That dominance extended to last month's elections when pro-Maduro candidates swept races for governor and mayor. Noting that his Socialist Party has run the country for the past two decades, Maduro boasted in a Nov. 21 victory speech: "We are a major force in Venezuelan history."
Just a few years ago, U.S. officials were calling the Maduro government a spent force.
The U.S. sanctions Venezuela
In response to Maduro's crackdown on democracy — which included jailing dissidents, crushing protests and his claiming another six-year term in a flawed 2018 presidential election — the Trump administration in 2019 sanctioned Venezuela's oil industry. Venezuela's economy relies heavily on oil exports, and the United States had been the primary destination, so the move immediately cut off a huge source of cash to the Maduro government.
In addition, the U.S. and more than 50 other governments recognized opposition politician Juan Guaidó, who was then head of Venezuela's National Assembly, as the country's legitimate head of state. At the time, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insisted that these moves would soon force Maduro out of office.
"We're very hopeful that the Maduro regime will understand that the Venezuelan people have made its days numbered," he told Fox News in April 2019.
But for a variety of reasons, Maduro remains firmly entrenched in the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas.
The military supports Maduro
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