1、CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress INSIGHTINSIGHTi i Venezuela: Challenges for U.S. Policymakers in 2021 Updated March 9, 2021 The crisis in V enezuela is a primary challenge facing U.S. policymakers in the Western Hemisphere. Two years after the United States ceased to reco
2、gnize Nicols Maduro as the legitimate president of V enezuela, Maduro has taken de facto control of the National Assembly, the last independent branch of government. Maduro has consolidated power despite a dire economic and humanitarian crisis exacerbated by Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), U.S.
3、 and international pressure for him to cede power, and an opposition led by Juan Guaid, the National Assembly president elected in 2015 once regarded as interim president by nearly 60 countries. Although the Biden Administration still recognizes Guaid as interim president, many U.S. allies, includin
4、g the European Union (EU), do not. Congress supported the Trump Administrations efforts to promote a restoration of democracy in V enezuela without the use of military force and provide humanitarian assistance to V enezuelans. In December 2019, Congress enacted the V enezuela Emergency Relief, Democ
