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Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic, is a South American nation on the Caribbean coast with a population of roughly 31.8 million, centered around its capital, Caracas. Colonized by Spain in 1522 and independent since 1811, it enjoyed a democratic period starting in 1958, but economic crises led to the 1998 election of Hugo Chávez and his Bolivarian Revolution. Following Chávez's death, his successor, Nicolás Maduro, has overseen a sharp democratic backsliding marked by disputed elections and a severe economic collapse featuring hyperinflation and shortages. In 2026, U.S. forces captured Maduro, and Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as acting president, a move that has led to the country being described as a U.S. puppet state. Despite holding the world's largest known oil reserves, Venezuela struggles with widespread poverty, corruption, and violence, which have driven over 7.9 million citizens to flee in a massive refugee crisis. The nation now ranks poorly on global measures of press freedom and civil liberties, reflecting a severe deterioration in its human rights situation.