The going has been tough for Venezuela's embattled President Nicolas Maduro ever since he was sworn in for his second term at the beginning of this year, but by the end of it he emerged as a political survivor effectively rebutting a U.S.-led campaign to depose and ostracize him.
Minutes after he took oath on January 10, the Organization of American States (OAS) declared his presidency illegitimate and called for new elections. Subsequently, the U.S., a member of the OAS, led a vicious campaign to unseat Maduro.
On January 23, U.S. President Donald Trump, with the backing of several OAS members including Canada, Brazil and many Latin American countries, recognized the leader of Venezuela's National Assembly Juan Guaido as the country's legitimate president.
Refusing to be bullied by Trump, Maduro accused the U.S. of instigating a coup in a bid to establish a "puppet government" in Venezuela and control the country's oil reserves. The Venezuelan president expelled American diplomats, giving them 72 hours to leave the country.
On February 28, Washington moved the UN Security Council seeking action against Maduro and calling for a fresh presidential election in Venezuela; however, Russia and China vetoed the resolution to scuttle the U.S. plan.
On April 30, amid reports of an uprising, Maduro in a live televised address claimed that his troops defeated a coup attempt backed by Trump and then U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton. And on June 26, Caracas thwarted yet another U.S.-linked coup bid including a plot to assassinate the Venezuelan president.
In the months since, Maduro has seen his regional adversaries flustered by violent protests, his allies strengthened at the polls and attempts by U.S. to diplomatically isolate him fail miserably.
In a country that often makes headlines for its hunger, scarcity and news of Maduro's impending downfall, there's a sense of precarious economic and political stability on the streets, Caracas-based businessman and political analyst Ruben Rivero Capriles told Miami Herald.
"I think people here are resigned. They feel like Maduro has survived," he said. "And now the world is distracted with the protests in Chile, Ecuador, Haiti – so many other countries."
Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Trump has given up on plans to topple Maduro, realizing that Guaido may not be the challenger the U.S. president thought him to be. Washington may now be considering other options, including siding with Russia to work on a transition plan or pressuring Cuba, Maduro's key backer.
Once a bus driver for Caracas Metro who rose to become the president of Venezuela, Maduro is certainly no pushover when it comes to political maneuvering. He has survived the year to fight another battle.