Anatoly Kurmanaev

Trump's starting a so-called maximum pressure campaign to drive Maduro from power.

So he recognized the country's opposition leader as the legitimate president of the country.

He bans Venezuelan oil from the U.S.

He makes it extremely difficult for Venezuelan governments to make any financial transactions.

and precipitating an economic crisis in the country, which made life very difficult for ordinary people, which led Maduro to dig further in, to rely more on repression, to deepen his alliances with China and Russia, to hold on to power.

That's right.

What was missing in the past was the threat of U.S.

military action.

So from a Venezuelan side, last year...

was a point of no return for Venezuelan democracy because Maduro went from making it very difficult for the opposition to campaign to outright making up numbers.

But it was a presidential election last year, huge outswell of support for the opposition led by Maria Corina Machado.

And her candidates get 70% of the votes, and her activists are able to provide proof of those numbers, are able to provide evidence of real election results.

This political campaign organized by Maria Corina Machado was the reason she received Nobel Peace Prize.

But Maduro ignores them, produces completely different results.

And uses repression to stay in power, basically challenging the opposition, the world to do anything about them.

So initially he tries negotiating with Maduro.

He sends his envoy to Caracas to start working on a deal that would in effect deliver all of Venezuela's natural resources to the U.S.

and keep Maduro in power, at least for the time being.

That's right, Natalie.

The reporting that we have shows that it was arguably the most far-reaching attempt at resource diplomacy of Trump's time in power.