Venezuela Explained in 10 Maps and Charts: Oil, Politics and Rising US Tensions

The United States has designated the group known as the "Cartel de los Soles" a foreign terrorist organisation, while former US President Donald Trump said he planned land operations to combat drug trafficking — marking a recent escalation in US–Venezuela tensions. Washington alleges links between the cartel and President Nicolás Maduro; Maduro rejects the claims and calls them politically motivated.

This explainer uses 10 maps and charts to show how Venezuela's geography, oil wealth, political choices and international sanctions combined to produce a deep economic and humanitarian crisis — and how that crisis has intersected with regional security concerns.

Snapshot: people, place and demographics

Population: About 28.4 million (roughly 53rd in the world). Around 85% live in urban areas concentrated along the northern coastal mountain region; the largest cities are Caracas (~3 million), Maracaibo (~2.4 million) and Valencia (~2 million).

Health and fertility: World Bank figures put life expectancy near 73 years and the fertility rate at about two children per woman — above replacement levels that many Western countries have dropped below.

Religion and language: Nearly 90% identify as Christian (predominantly Catholic). Spanish is the official language; multiple Indigenous languages are also spoken.

Geography

Venezuela covers roughly 916,445 sq km (353,841 sq miles), making it the 32nd largest country globally and the sixth largest in South America. Its terrain includes the Andes in the west, a coastal mountain chain to the north and east, tropical forests (including parts of the Amazon), river plains and Atlantic coastal lowlands.

Political background

Since the end of military rule in 1958, Venezuelan politics alternated between democratic parties and populist movements. Economic shocks in the 1980s and 1990s, widespread corruption and disillusionment with traditional parties opened the door for Hugo Chávez, elected in 1999. Chávez’s Bolivarian Revolution redirected oil income into social programmes and state-led initiatives; these policies initially reduced poverty but also deepened dependence on oil revenues and increased vulnerability to price swings.

After Chávez’s death in 2013, Nicolás Maduro — his chosen successor — consolidated power with the United Socialist Party of Venezuela. Over the last decade, critics say Maduro’s government eroded democratic institutions through censorship, restrictions and targeting of opponents.

Economy and oil dependence

GDP and fiscal reliance: Venezuela’s GDP is estimated at about $108.5 billion, making it one of the smaller economies in Latin America despite vast natural resources. Oil revenues remain central: in 2024, PDVSA export revenues and related taxes made up roughly 58% of state income.

From 2014 to 2024 the economy contracted dramatically — by more than 70% — driven by an oil-price collapse, mismanagement and sanctions. Easing of some US oil and gas sanctions in 2023 coincided with a recovery: 2023 annual growth was roughly 5%, and official forecasts in 2024 projected stronger growth driven by increased oil activity (Trading Economics reported third-quarter year-on-year growth of 8.7%).

Trade and exports

In 2023 crude petroleum accounted for about half of Venezuela’s exports, yet export revenues for crude were low relative to its reserves (roughly $4.05 billion in crude exports in 2023). Petroleum coke was the second-largest export (>7% of exports). The United States bought about half of Venezuela’s exports in 2023, China accounted for nearly 10% (about half of that in petroleum coke), and Spain about 9% (mostly crude).

Oil reserves and technical limits

Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, estimated at about 303 billion barrels (2023). Most reserves are in the Orinoco Belt (roughly 55,000 sq km) and are composed largely of extra-heavy crude. Extracting and refining this oil requires advanced, costly techniques (steam injection, blending with lighter crudes), and the product typically sells at a discount due to density and sulphur content. Ageing refinery infrastructure and sanctions further limit Venezuela’s ability to increase refined exports.

Humanitarian crisis and migration

A sustained economic collapse, shortages of food, medicines and fuel, and declining public services produced one of the largest displacement crises in the region. Net migration rose sharply mid-decade, peaking with an estimated 1.4 million people leaving in 2018. According to UNHCR, most migrants fled to neighbouring Latin American and Caribbean countries. Poverty remains widespread (about half the population), though poverty indicators showed slight improvement after 2021.

Inflation has been extreme: Statista estimated inflation near 180% for 2025, underscoring ongoing cost-of-living pressures.

Labour, military and security

Unemployment was reported at about 5.5% in 2024; the long-term average (1999–2024) is approximately 10%, with a peak of 21% in 2003. The armed forces — tasked with border defence, internal security and counternarcotics — numbered about 123,000 active personnel and 8,000 reservists as of 2018. Economic decline has constrained modernisation efforts. Venezuela maintains military relationships with China, Russia, Iran and Cuba and has taken part in joint exercises abroad.

US actions, counternarcotics claims and legal questions

In recent years the US has intensified interdictions of vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific and deployed significant naval assets, including the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group. US officials have stated the operations target drug-trafficking networks. Statements attributed to then-President Donald Trump and senior US defense officials said US forces carried out at least 21 lethal strikes on vessels off Venezuela’s coast since September 2 (reports cited the deaths of at least 83 people). Mapping of those strikes by open-source monitors (for example, ACLED — the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project) shows many incidents near Venezuela’s coast or in nearby international waters, prompting debate about the legality and proportionality of force when an imminent threat was not evident.

US accusations link corruption, drug-trafficking and the alleged "Cartel de los Soles" to senior Venezuelan officials; Maduro’s government rejects those allegations and accuses Washington of using counternarcotics pretexts for political intervention. Independent data from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) note that cocaine production is concentrated in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia (about 99% of global supply) and that Venezuela is primarily a transit route in some smuggling networks rather than a major producer. Most cocaine destined for the United States moves along Pacific routes through Central America and Mexico.

Bottom line: Venezuela’s crisis is the product of long-term dependence on oil, policy choices that concentrated power and resources, economic mismanagement, and sanctions. Those factors produced severe social hardship and mass migration — and they now overlap with international security concerns that have drawn renewed foreign military attention.