Venezuela's Economic Growth Under Maduro's Leadership

Nicolás Maduro was inaugurated as President of Venezuela on April 19, 2013. Under his leadership, the economic growth of this Oil Giant nation has fluctuated.

Citing data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Venezuela's real annual economic growth at constant prices has ranged from -30% to 8% per year.

In 2013, the economic growth of this Latin American country was recorded at 1.3%. Subsequently, it dropped to minus 3.9%.

This negative economic trend continued, reaching its lowest point in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, when it hit -30%.

Afterward, growth began to recover. It even reached 8% in 2022, the highest since Maduro took office.

The latest data for 2025 projects growth at 0.5%.

Recently, the United States (US) military arrested Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in an operation on Saturday (January 3, 2026) early morning.

Both were arrested and escorted aboard the US warship USS Iwo Jima. Maduro will be prosecuted on US Department of Justice charges accusing him of involvement in narco-terrorism in 2020.

Speaking to reporters, US President Donald Trump stated that he would temporarily govern Venezuela and would utilize the Latin American nation's oil reserves. The oil would also be marketed to other countries.

"We will run this country until such time as it can make a safe, proper, and prudent transition," Trump said at a press conference after Maduro's arrest, in Mar-a-Lago, as quoted by Katadata.co.id from the Associated Press, Sunday (January 4, 2026).