Nicolás Maduro: The leader promising to win ‘by hook or by crook’

And while he never achieved the popularity among Chavistas that his predecessor Hugo Chávez had, he has so far managed to remain the movement’s uncontested leader.

This was far from a given when he was picked by Hugo Chávez in 2012 as his heir after the latter was diagnosed with cancer.

Many had thought Chávez would choose Diosdado Cabello, a fiery and combative military man, for the role of acting president while the ailing leader was receiving treatment in Cuba.

But Chávez instead anointed Mr Maduro, whom he had just named vice-president after serving six years as Chávez’s foreign minister.

Following Chávez’s death in March 2013, Mr Maduro narrowly won the election the president’s death had triggered, defeating opposition candidate Henrique Capriles by 1.6 percentage points – a result Mr Capriles disputed.

In 2018, Mr Maduro sailed to victory by a wide margin in elections which were roundly dismissed as neither free nor fair.

The main opposition coalition had decided to boycott the polls after a raft of candidates were arrested or had fled the country, leaving the field virtually empty for Mr Maduro.

Arguably, one of Mr Maduro’s main achievements has been how he has managed over the past 11 years not only to prevent any challenges to his rule within his PSUV party, but also to form strong alliances with those who have backed him.

His defence minister, Vladimir Padrino, has been in the post for almost a decade, ensuring that the armed forces remain behind him.

The support of the armed forces was key when the then leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, declared himself the rightful president in January 2019, arguing that Mr Maduro’s re-election in 2018 had been fraudulent.

The hope of the opposition that Mr Guaidó would replace Mr Maduro in the presidential palace was soon quashed, with all the major institutions remaining under the firm control of the government.

Allies of Mr Maduro also control the main electoral body, the Supreme Court and the Attorney-General’s office, among others.

Suspicious of outsiders, he surrounds himself with a close-knit group of trusted politicians, whom he rotates through different high-ranking posts.

Among them is Delcy Rodríguez, who has served as his communications minister, his foreign minister and most recently, as his vice-president.