Since the early 20th Century, Venezuela’s stability has depended on exploiting its oil reserves, which generated billions in revenue each year. In 1998, communist firebrand, Hugo Chavez, was elected president by pledging to use oil profits for crucial social programs, and promote government spending on domestic industrial sectors. However, after years of corruption, oil prices plummeted, and Venezuelans were unable to afford the basic necessities for survival. A once burgeoning, vibrant economy lost steam, and its people began to suffer.

As of 2017, floundering oil prices continue to cause economic chaos in Venezuela. Food shortages have resulted in endless lines for basic necessities, and the recent drought has made fresh water scarce. In a number of cities, protesters have clashed with security forces, demanding change. Current President Nicolás Maduro has presided over huge opposition gains in the government, while failing to capture popularity as living standards worsen, and crime, inflation and hunger increases. The referendum put forth to recall Maduro has been largely ignored.

Monthly protests have turned into daily riots where many Venezuelans have been murdered fighting for their basic human rights. Shortages of medicine and food have finally driven organizations from around the world to offer assistance, but Maduro refuses to admit that the crisis even exists. Recently, the United States labelled Maduro a dictator, froze his U.S. assets, and banned him from entering the country. This year president Donald Trump indicted Maduro for drug trafficking, offering a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest. While the corrupt government  of Venezuela consolidate power, its citizens are dying. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein states Venezuela has seen a “dramatic decline in enjoyment of economic and social rights, with increasingly widespread hunger and sharply deteriorating health-care.”