Ramtin Arablouei and Randa Abdel-Fattah

Nevertheless, it was once among the fairest regions that are the pride of America.

Simón Bolívar, September 6, 1815.

Hey everyone, it's Ramtin.

And runned.

On January 3rd, the U.S.

military seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro after a series of strikes on Venezuela's capital that killed at least 80 people.

The military brought Maduro to the U.S.

for trial on federal drug trafficking and weapons charges.

To understand what's happening in Venezuela and the U.S.

government's latest escalation, we're bringing you an episode from our archive, the story of two leaders in Venezuela separated by nearly two centuries who shaped the country into what it is today.

When this episode was first released back in 2019, Venezuela was facing an economic and humanitarian crisis.

That remains true today.

And it's gotten so bad, nearly 8 million people have fled Venezuela in recent years to escape extreme poverty.

The Justice Department's case alleges that while Venezuela's economy collapsed, Maduro used his power to run a narco-terrorism operation that made him rich.

Maduro pleaded not guilty to these charges.

The thing is, Venezuela was once the richest country in South America.

So the question becomes now, how did such a once prosperous nation end up here?

When we looked into this, it quickly became clear that Venezuela's problems began way before Nicolas Maduro.

It goes back to Maduro's predecessor, Hugo Chavez.

Chavez created the regime that Maduro has struggled to control since he assumed the presidency in 2013.