VENEZUELA'S Putin-loving dictator has cast a dark shadow over his country for over a decade as he plunged it further into turmoil.
Nicolás Maduro, 61, a bus driver-turned-kingpin president now looks poised to invade his neighbour in an oil-driven land grab.
The stern-faced 6ft3in socialist has ruled over the failing South American country that sits in America's backyard for over a decade.
Clinging onto power through a series of rigged elections and assassination attempts, Maduro has driven his country into greater economic devastation and political instability.
The UN predicts that the 61-year-old's brutal and repressive regime, propped up by the military, has led to 20,000 extrajudicial killings and forced quarter of its population to flee the country.
He has ferociously cracked down on opponents, mercilessly gunned down anti-government protesters and allegedly squirrelled away millions of the country's wealth to be spent on himself.
Inflation has hit 350 per cent, the country is nearing social and humanitarian collapse and now Maduro could be on the brink of starting a war.
Fears are growing that Maduro's next move is to snatch two thirds of neighbouring Guyana after years of trumpeting a claim over the region since the discovery of offshore oil and gas.
For weeks, Venezuela's military has been amassing near the border of its small Commonwealth neighbour, leading to speculation of an impending invasion.
If the unpredictable leader makes the lunge, the conflict could not only spill into Brazil and Colombia, but the US could be begrudgingly dragged into its midst.
Guyana's tiny army is now on full alert for an invasion, while Brazil also moved troops to the area in preparation.
Maduro has ambitions to seize the oil supplies in the mineral-rich Essequibo region as he unveiled a terrifying map that showed two thirds of Guyana under his control.
Guyana has branded the military buildup as a "pretext for annexation".
As tensions spiral, world leaders have called for calm but Maduro has vowed to "take back" the territory, where 125,000 Guyanese live.
Venezuela has always considered the western region of Essequibo as its own, despite it being ratified as part of Guyana as far back as 1899.
This week, the US pledged its "unwavering support" to Guyana as US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken promised to protect its sovereignty.
Michael Rubin, Senior Fellow at public policy think tank American Enterprise Institute, has urged Joe Biden to send in soldiers now.
He wrote: "Maduro is testing Biden, just as Saddam tested Bush and Galtieri tested Margaret Thatcher.
"If Biden wants to stave off war, now is the time to send American troops to Guyana.
"Sometimes deterrence is necessary if diplomacy is to succeed."
Although part of the Commonwealth, the association has no military component and the UK would not be obligated to defend Guyana.
The UK may still choose to intervene or assist should Venezuela invade.
Elected by a narrow margin in March, 2013, Maduro has presided over the country for year as its problems skyrocket.
As his country suffered and starved, Maduro lived a life of luxury and reportedly racked up a fortune of £220million.
In 2018, he sparked outrage after being pictured enjoying a lavish meat banquet hosted by celebrity chef Salt Bae in Istanbul.
While Venezuelans can barely afford fresh meat, the president tucked into the infamous gold-crusted steaks.
"This is a once in a lifetime moment," the president said as puffed on a cigar and ignored the widespread food shortage raging in his country.
Opposition leader Julio Borges, who fled Venezuela for fear of arrest, tweeted: "While Venezuelans suffer and die of hunger, Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores have a good time in one of the most expensive restaurants in the world, all with money stolen from the Venezuelan people."
Only a few months earlier, his two stepsons Yoswal Gavidia Flores and Walter Gavidia Flores managed to blow £36,000 on an extravagant 18-night stay at the Ritz hotel in Paris.
The bill was equivalent to the monthly wages of 2,000 Venezuelans - a casual two weeks for the pair who frequently parade themselves around Europe's most expensive restaurants and hotels.
And back at home, the president and his family can escape the chaos of their own making by hiding out in his luxury enclave in the capital, complete with its own bowling alley, swimming pools, lakes and restaurants.
Maduro and his so-called "dirty dozen" of top lieutenants live in fabulous estates which would not look out of place in the hills of Hollywood.
The five star bolthole is guarded by seven successive checkpoints and hundreds of heavily armed troops.
A friendship seemingly forged in the flow of oil, Venezuela sits on top of the world's largest oil reserve and Russia is the world's second largest oil exporter.
The pair of callous dictators have deepened their cooperation in recent years as Putin has sought to invest more in the South American country.
Russia describes Venezuela as a key Russian partner in Latin America and says it is deepening ties with other powers after the West slapped sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine.
A visit by Maduro to Russia is expected by the end of the year, insider sources report.
In 2020, the US charged Maduro and his cronies with narco terrorism, corruption, drug trafficking and a whole host of other criminal charges.
It landed Maduro with a $15million (£12.5million) bounty planted on his head by The Trump Administration.
Other sordid officials charged included the country's defence minister and the supreme court chief justice.
The US has long opposed what they call his corrupt and unlawful regime and placed sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry.
The US charges stated that Maduro and other senior officials helped run a drug trafficking organisation called Cartel de Los Soles (cartel of the suns, named for the sun-shaped stars on military officer's uniforms).
Washington accused them of "flooding" the US with cocaine and using the drug as a "weapon against America".
Two of Maduro's wife's nephews had previously been arrested for drug trafficking in 2015 in Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince.
Efraín Antonio Campo Flores and Francisco Flores de Freitas were caught attempting to smuggle 800kg of cocaine into the US with the cash allegedly destined to help their family stay in power.
Known as the Narcosobrinos affair, it finally drew to a close when the nephews were returned to Venezuela in a prisoner swap in October, 2022.
In May 2020, the US was once again drawn into a battle with Maduro when two US mercenaries were arrested over a botched coup attempt to topple Maduro.
Green Berets Luke Denman, 37, and Airan Berry, 44, were sentenced to 20 years in prison when a team of mercenaries and dissidents landed in in a raid called Operation Gideon.
The mission to "kidnap or kill" the president failed before it even began as Maduro's intelligence services caught wind of the plot and set a trap.
The operation was allegedly planned by American private security firm Silvercorp USA after the firm was approached by Maduro's rival Juan Guaido.
His government is officially recognised by the US as the true leaders of Venezuela.
In the wake of the failed mission, the president fumed: "The government is fully and completely involved in this defeated raid.
"They were playing Rambo. They were playing hero.";
Back in August 2018, officials claimed that dissidents attempt to blew up Meduro during a military parade.
His enemies apparently detonated two drones rigged with explosives, but the alleged plot was foiled by the military who shot them out of the sky.
Maduro managed to escape unharmed as his security forces surrounded him with shields.
