![An anti-government demonstrator wearing a Russian military hat protests the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 6, 2017 (AP photo by Wil Riera).](https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/l_venezuela_protest_08282017.jpg?w=519&h=259&crop=1)
The United States issued a new batch of sanctions against Venezuela last Friday, targeting high-ranking members of President Nicolas Maduro’s regime and setting up a “financial blockade” against the state-owned institutions that fund them. Cutting off Maduro’s revenue may be the key to his ouster, U.S. officials have said, but restoring democracy in Venezuela after he’s gone looks to be a more complex, internal issue. Much of the pressure on Maduro still originates inside Venezuela, from politicians at all levels of government who oppose his dictatorship and hope to one day regain control of the country’s political future. The opposition […]