Have US Sanctions Against Venezuela Helped Maduro?

The United States implemented human rights sanctions on seven Venezuelan officials in March. Initially, Latin Americans criticized this move because aggressive moves from Washington could allow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to rally his waning supporters. Although Maduro did seize another presidential victory, polls show that Maduro’s popularity has not improved as predicted. Unlike Hugo Chavez, Maduro has failed to gather a strong following from Venezuela’s marginalized citizens: “life for the average Venezuela is turning ever more nasty and brutish,” writes José Cárdenas for Foreign Policy. Depressed oil prices do not help. Anti-US rhetoric is not enough to unite a Venezuelan state that’s in shambles both economically, with a sinking currency and shrinking GDP, and socially, with skyrocketing crime rates. – YaleGlobal