Name: 美、委兩國為何瀕臨開戰邊緣？ 🚨 (Why The US & Venezuela Are On The Brink of War)
Uploaded: 2025-11-19T17:09:22.000Z
Duration: 39 min 5 s

Something unprecedented is taking place right now in the Caribbean Sea.

加勒比海現在正發生著前所未見的狀況。

The United States is currently deploying more military assets to this theater than at any other point in the 21st century, and

美國目前在這個區域部署的軍事資產，比21世紀任何其他時期都要多，而且

it's the largest concentration of US military might in the Western Hemisphere since the country's invasion of Panama in 1989.

這也是自從美國1989年入侵巴拿馬以來，在西半球集結的最大規模的美國軍事力量。

This time, however, the US military is concentrating its forces just outside of the territorial waters of Venezuela, arguably the most antagonistic country in the Western Hemisphere to American interests.

不過這次，美軍將兵力集中在委內瑞拉的領海之外，委內瑞拉可說是西半球最敵視美國利益的國家。

The US has deployed three modern Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyers and one to Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser, along with at least one nuclear powered attack submarine just offshore of Venezuela that all collectively carry a strike package of dozens to hundreds of Tomahawk cruise missiles.

美國在委內瑞拉近海部署了三艘現代化的Arleigh Burke class導引飛彈驅逐艦和一艘Ticonderoga class導引飛彈巡洋艦，以及至少一艘核動力攻擊潛艦，這些艦艇總共攜帶了數十枚到數百枚Tomahawk cruise missiles的打擊武力。

If these Navy warships weren't enough, they've also been joined by the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit as well, consisting of the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima, along with its complement of two transport and logistical support ships.

如果這些海軍軍艦還不夠的話，他們還加入了第22海軍陸戰隊遠徵隊，其中包括兩棲突擊艦 USS Iwo Jima，以及兩艘運輸及後勤支援艦。

The USS Iwo Jima in particular is basically a miniature sized aircraft carrier that was captured by photographs on its way to Venezuela, with multiple Harrier attack aircraft, M22 Osprey assault helicopters, and

特別是USS Iwo Jima，它基本上就像一個迷你航空母艦，在前往委內瑞拉的途中被拍攝到，上面載有多架Harrier 攻擊機、M22 Osprey 攻擊直升機，以及

Sikorsky heavy lift helicopters all on board.

It can also, along with its two transport and logistical support ships, launch multiple hovercraft and amphibious assault vehicles for armed beach assaults under its aerial coverage too.

它還可以和它的兩艘運輸及後勤支援艦一起，在空中掩護下，發射多艘氣墊船和兩棲突擊車進行武裝登陸作戰。

More than 2,500 US Marines have been deployed here with the 22nd, along with around 2,000 sailors belonging to the naval complement with the destroyers, the cruiser and the submarine.

第22海軍陸戰隊遠徵隊在這裡部署了超過2,500名美國海軍陸戰隊員，以及約2,000名屬於驅逐艦、巡洋艦和潛艦海軍編制的船員。

And on top of all of this firepower, the US has also deployed a literal combat ship to the theater as well, the USS Minneapol as St.

而且除了這些火力之外，美國還部署了一艘真正的作戰艦到該區域，也就是阿靈頓級的聖保羅號，讓目前部署在該區域的船艦總數達到九艘，同時至少有另外10架F35戰鬥機也部署到了波多黎各的機場。

Paul, bringing the total number of vessels deployed in the theater so far up to nine, while at least an additional 10 F35 fighter jets have also been deployed to airfields in Puerto Rico.

川普政府公開聲明，目前在委內瑞拉附近部署所有這些資產的目的是進行禁毒行動，並阻止來自委內瑞拉的毒品流入美國。

The Trump administration's officially stated purpose for deploying all of these assets nearby to Venezuela right now is to simply conduct counternarconics operations and halt the flow of drugs from Venezuela coming into the United States.

但部署配備Tomahawk cruise missiles的軍艦和核動力攻擊潛艦、Harrier 攻擊機、F35戰鬥機，以及

But deploying warships and nuclear powered submarines armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles, Harrier aircraft, F35 fighters, and

數千名準備進行登陸作戰的陸戰隊員，對於僅僅針對那些最常使用機動快艇的毒販執行這類任務來說，似乎是過度武裝了。

fast thousands of Marines ready for a beach assault appears to be wildly overkill for that kind of a mission alone against TRUG runners who most often use nothing more advanced than motorized speedboats.

大多數毒品實際上是通過太平洋海岸進入美國的，還有很多是通過空運進口，而這些都不是在委內瑞拉海岸集結的艦隊能夠阻止的，這導致了普遍的猜測，認為他們的真正目的是試圖通過推翻總統尼古拉斯·馬杜羅來在委內瑞拉引發政權更迭。

Most drugs enter into the United States today through the Pacific coast anyway, while a great deal more come in through air shipments, none of which the flotilla being assembled off the coast of Venezuela will be capable of stopping, which has led to rampant speculation that their ulterior objective may be attempting to induce regime change within Venezuela instead by overthrowing their president, Nicolas Maduro.

在這支艦隊開始集結的幾週前，美國政府將馬杜羅的懸賞金從2500萬美元翻倍，提高到前所未有的5000萬美元，這是美國政府有史以來對單一個人懸賞的最高金額。

Merely weeks before this flotilla began being assembled, the US Government doubled the bounty it had placed on Maduro's head from $25 million to an unprecedented $50 million, the biggest bounty that the US government has ever put on a single individual's head in history.

為了比較尼古拉斯·馬杜羅最近被懸賞5000萬美元的嚴重性，這是在美國最想抓捕名單上的其他前男性罪犯，如奧薩馬·賓·拉登、薩達姆·侯賽因和

To put how serious this $50 million bounty recently placed on Nicolas Maduro is in comparison, it's double the bounty that the US has put on other previous men on its most wanted lists, like Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and

伊斯蘭國前領導人阿布·巴克爾·巴格達迪的兩倍，他們在美國懸賞名單上的最高金額都僅為2500萬美元。

the former leader of isis, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, all of whom topped out on the US bounty list at just $25 million.

相比之下，美國今天對尼古拉斯·馬杜羅的懸賞金，相當於當年對奧薩馬·賓·拉登和薩達姆·侯賽因兩人的懸賞總和。

By comparison, the US bounty on Nicolas Maduro today is what it once had placed on both Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein together.

And the US doesn't recognize him as Venezuela's legitimate president either.

而且美國也不承認他是委內瑞拉的合法總統。

And Maduro himself is far from the only man in Venezuela with a high US Bounty on his head.

而且馬杜羅本人絕不是委內瑞拉唯一一個頭上有美國高額懸賞金的人。

His appointed Minister of the Interior, Di Estano Cabello Rondon, now has a $25 million bounty placed on his head as well, equalling Osama bin Laden's bounty.

他任命的內政部長 Di Estano Cabello Rondon，現在頭上也有2500萬美元的懸賞金，與奧薩馬·賓·拉登的懸賞金一樣高。

His defense minister, General Vladimir Pedrino Lopez, has a $15 million bounty, while his Minister of Industry, Tariq Zaydan, a Sami Maddan, has another $10 million bounty, collectively representing $100 million worth of bounties placed on just these four senior leaders of the Venezuelan government alone.

他的國防部長 Vladimir Pedrino Lopez 將軍有1500萬美元的懸賞金，而他的工業部長 Tariq Zaydan，一位 Sami Maddan，則有另外1000萬美元的懸賞金，這四位委內瑞拉政府高層領導人加起來的懸賞金總額就高達1億美元。

In July, the month before all of these bounties were dramatically increased, US President Donald Trump signed a secret directive that authorized the US remorse against Latin American cartels that were designated by his government as terrorist organizations, which includes Venezuela's most infamous criminal organization, Trenda Aragua.

在這些懸賞金大幅提高前的七月，美國總統唐納·川普簽署了一項祕密指令，授權美國對其政府指定的恐怖組織的拉丁美洲販毒集團採取行動，其中包括委內瑞拉最臭名昭著的犯罪組織 Trenda Aragua。

This secret directive has once again raised the specter of a 21st century interpretation of America's Monroe Doctrine, its historical justification for militarily intervening in the affairs of other states in the Americas.

這項祕密指令再次引發了對美國門羅主義21世紀詮釋的擔憂，這是美國過去幹預美洲其他國家事務的歷史藉口。

The Trump administration accuses Maduro and his close inner circle of secretly running their own drunk cartel called the Cartel of the Suns, which the Trump administration further accuses of providing material support to both Trend and the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico, their cocaine and fentanyl running operations into the United States.

川普政府指控馬杜羅及其親信祕密經營著一個名為「太陽神販毒集團」的販毒組織，川普政府進一步指控該組織為墨西哥的 Trend 和 Sinaloa 販毒集團提供物質支持，並將古柯鹼和芬太尼運往美國。

Thus, the Trump administration has led the US into designating the Cartel of the Suns as a terrorist organization as well, which is the justification that the US Government has used to label Maduro and his inner circle as narco terrorists and to place massive bounties on their heads with.

是以，川普政府領導美國將「太陽神販毒集團」也列為恐怖組織，這也是美國政府用來將馬杜羅及其親信標記為毒梟恐怖分子並對他們懸賞巨額獎金的理由。

And it might also become the casus belli that they use to initiate attacks on the Maduro government from the flotilla that's being assembled off of their ship shores.

這也可能成為他們用來從正在集結於其海岸外的艦隊發動攻擊以推翻馬杜羅政府的戰爭藉口。

It should also be noted that there are many, many controversies surrounding the Cartel of the Suns, including as to whether or not it even exists.

還應該指出的是，「太陽神販毒集團」存在許多爭議，包括它是否真的存在。

Argentina, Paraguay, Peru, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic have all joined the United States and declared the Cartel of the Suns to be a terrorist organization.

阿根廷、巴拉圭、祕魯、厄瓜多和多明尼加共和國都已加入美國的行列，宣佈「太陽神販毒集團」為恐怖組織。

Maduro himself denies that any such organization exists, while Colombia's leftist president Gustavo Petro has also publicly rejected the cartel's existence and has insisted that it's nothing more than a propaganda tool being used to justify toppling Venezuela's government.

馬杜羅本人否認有任何此類組織的存在，而哥倫比亞的左翼總統古斯塔沃·佩特羅也公開駁斥了該販毒集團的存在，並堅稱它不過是個用來合理化推翻委內瑞拉政府的宣傳工具。

Several internal reports in the US also seem to contradict many of the Trump administration's claims here.

美國的幾份內部報告似乎也與川普政府的許多說法相矛盾。

In May, a National Intelligence Council report that was declassified concluded that the Maduro government likely didn't have any policy of cooperating with Trend Aragua, nor did it direct any of Trend Aragua's operations in the United States.

五月，一份解密的國家情報委員會報告得出結論，馬杜羅政府可能沒有與 Trend Aragua 合作的任何政策，也沒有指揮 Trend Aragua 在美國的任何行動。

Similarly, the Mexican government has also said that they have never found any link between Maduro's government in Venezuela and the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico.

同樣，墨西哥政府也表示，他們從未發現馬杜羅政府與墨西哥的 Sinaloa 販毒集團之間有任何關聯。

Nonetheless, the justifications in Casas Bellis have been drafted and the firepower put into place.

儘管如此，「Casas Bellis」的理由已經擬定，火力也已就位。

All that's required now is to simply pull the trigger and on 2 September, the first shots were fired.

現在只需要扣下扳機，而在九月二日，第一槍就打了出去。

A boat carrying 11 Venezuelans in international waters that had departed from Venezuela was shot by a missile likely fired by an American MQ9 Reaper drone, killing everyone on board.

一艘載有十一名委內瑞拉人在國際水域、從委內瑞拉出發的船隻，被一枚很可能是美國 MQ9 Reaper 無人機發射的飛彈擊中，船上所有人都死亡了。

The US government claimed afterwards that the boat was carrying a large amount of drugs and that everyone on board were members of Trend Nicaragua, potentially representing the first instance of a lethal US drone strike conducted against a Latin American American cartel since Trump returned back to the presidency.

美國政府事後聲稱，該船載有大量毒品，船上所有人都屬於 Trend Nicaragua 的成員，這可能是自川普重返總統職位以來，美國針對拉丁美洲販毒集團進行致命無人機襲擊的第一起案例。

This operation sharply contrasts with the traditional procedures the US has used against drug running vessels in the past, which are typically intercepted by the Coast Guard and raided so that their contents can be verified and their crews apprehended.

這項行動與美國過去對販毒船隻採取的傳統程序形成了鮮明對比，傳統程序通常是由海岸警衛隊攔截並搜查，以便驗證其內容並逮捕船員。

Blowing up a suspected drug running vessel with a drone strike isn't something that's happened until now, and

過去從未發生過用無人機擊毀疑似運毒船隻的事件，

it's only added on to the escalation going on around Venezuela since the Trump administration accuses Maduro's government of directly maintaining links to Trend Aragua, adding even more fuel to the fire.

這也加劇了委內瑞拉周邊的緊張局勢，因為川普政府指控馬杜羅政府與 Trend Aragua 有直接聯繫，火上添油。

CNN has also begun reporting that, according to multiple inside sources, the Trump administration is presently considering initiating military strikes against cartel targets within Venezuela itself, which could ostensibly mean strikes against Trend Narangua or against the Venezuelan government itself, which the Trump administration claims is essentially indistinguishable from a cartel.

CNN 也開始報導，根據多位內部消息人士指出，川普政府目前正考慮對委內瑞拉境內的販毒集團目標發動軍事打擊，這名義上可能意味著打擊 Trend Narangua 或委內瑞拉政府本身，因為川普政府聲稱兩者基本上沒有區別。

Maduro himself seems to believe that the US flotilla gathering off of his shores are indeed preparing to attack him and to remove him from power.

馬杜羅本人似乎認為，美國艦隊在他海岸附近集結，確實是在準備攻擊他並將他趕下臺。

He has been freaking out on social media and in speeches about the prospect, has ordered a full mobil mobilization of his military, has called for millions of additional Venezuelan citizens to join the country's armed militias to resist any attack, has deployed at least 15,000 of his troops to the border with Colombia, and

他在社群媒體和演講中對此前景感到非常恐慌，已下令軍隊全面動員，號召數百萬委內瑞拉公民加入國家武裝民兵以抵抗任何攻擊，並已部署至少一萬五千名軍隊到哥倫比亞邊境，

has sworn to resist and fight the US to the bitter end in the event of an actual attack.

並誓言若真的遭到攻擊，將抵抗到底。

On 5 September, a pair of Venezuelan F16 fighters flew close to the American warships in a show of resolve, and

九月五日，兩架委內瑞拉的 F16 戰鬥機飛近美國軍艦，展現決心，

the US warned that they could be shot down the next time if they were deemed to be a threat.

美國警告說，下次如果被視為威脅，它們可能會被擊落。

It's really not an exaggeration at all to say that the United States and Venezuela have never been closer to the brink of war than they currently are now.

說美國和委內瑞拉從未如此接近戰爭邊緣，這絕對一點也不誇張。

How did the US and Venezuela get to this point?

美國和委內瑞拉是怎麼走到這一步的？

What are the risks of actual conflict both now and in the future?

現在和未來實際發生衝突的風險是什麼？

And will we end up getting the world we played in during Mercenaries 2 back in the late 2000s?

我們最終會回到 2000 年代後期《傭兵 2》裡我們玩過的那個世界嗎？

It's been building up towards this for quite some time because the US and Venezuela have maintained a very adversarial relationship for pretty much my own entire lifetime.

這情況醞釀已久，因為在我的整個生命週期裡，美國和委內瑞拉一直維持著非常敵對的關係。

To give some historical recap, Venezuela should realistically be a global energy superpower because it controls the largest proven reserves of oil on the planet, more than even Saudi Arabia.

簡單回顧一下歷史，委內瑞拉實際上應該是一個全球能源超級大國，因為它擁有地球上最大的已探明石油儲量，甚至比沙烏地阿拉伯還多。

The oil in Venezuela used to provide the country with fabulous riches.

委內瑞拉的石油曾為這個國家帶來了驚人的財富。

And as recently as the 1970s, Venezuela had the highest GDP per capita in Latin America because of it.

在 1970 年代，委內瑞拉的 GDP 人均所得還是拉丁美洲最高的，就是因為石油。

But Venezuela's crude oil is heavy, sour and full of impurities like sulfur, which means that it's pretty difficult to refine.

但委內瑞拉的原油是重油、酸油，而且雜質很多，像是硫，這表示它相當難提煉。

Venezuela was able to gain the technical assistance it needed with drilling and refining by attracting major foreign oil companies like ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Chevron and Shell to the country through joint ventures with Venezuela state owned oil company PDVSA.

委內瑞拉透過與委內瑞拉國營石油公司 PDVSA 的合資企業，吸引了像 ExxonMobil、ConocoPhillips、Chevron 和 Shell 這樣的大型外國石油公司到這個國家，從而獲得了鑽探和提煉所需的技術協助。

Oil profits were split 60:40 between government owned PDVSA and the foreign energy companies.

石油利潤在國營的 PDVSA 和外國能源公司之間以 60:40 的比例分配。

PDVSA gained valuable foreign experience and the economic relationship with the United States blossomed.

PDVSA 獲得了寶貴的外國經驗，與美國的經濟關係也蓬勃發展。

And due to the geographic proximity of the US to Venezuela, American energy companies built up a dense network of heavy duty oil refineries across the Gulf coast in Texas and Louisiana that could handle refining.

由於美國與委內瑞拉地理位置相近，美國能源公司在德州和路易斯安那州的墨西哥灣沿岸建立了密集的重油煉油廠網絡，能夠處理提煉作業。

Venezuela's nearby extra heavy crude which increased the US Venezuela relationship even further.

委內瑞拉附近極度濃稠的原油，進一步加強了美委關係。

By the late 1990s, an overwhelming 60 to 70% of Venezuela's oil exports were all heading to the United States, while Venezuelan oil made up about 15% of all US oil imports, the single largest source from any country in the world at the time.

在 1990 年代末期，高達 60% 到 70% 的委內瑞拉石油出口都流向美國，而委內瑞拉的石油佔美國總石油進口的約 15%，是當時世界上任何國家中最大的單一來源。

But the huge amount of money that was gushing into Venezuela through the oil industry gave way to runaway corruption, mismanagement and overdependence.

然而，透過石油產業湧入委內瑞拉的大筆資金，卻導致了失控的貪腐、管理不善和過度依賴。

Between 1972 and 1997, it's been estimated that as much as $100 billion was simply embezzled in the country by hopelessly corrupt government officials.

據估計，在 1972 年到 1997 年間，有高達 1000 億美元被國內極度腐敗的政府官員貪汙。

Meanwhile, oil came to make up a whopping 90% of Venezuela's total exports, as much as 70% of the government's operating budget, and

同時，石油佔委內瑞拉總出口的比例高達 90%，佔政府營運預算的 70%，

up to 40, 40% of the country's entire GDP, crowding out the development of virtually all other industries in the country.

甚至佔該國整體 GDP 的 40%，擠壓了國內幾乎所有其他產業的發展。

In the 1980s, the price of oil crashed from about $40 a barrel in 1979 to just 10 to $12 a barrel by 1986, which severely hurt the undiversified Venezuelan economy.

在 1980 年代，油價從 1979 年的每桶約 40 美元暴跌至 1986 年的每桶 10 到 12 美元，嚴重損害了單一產業化的委內瑞拉經濟。

Inflation and debt in the country both began to soar to unsustainable levels.

該國的通貨膨脹和債務都開始飆升到無法持續的水準。

And in 1989, the government agreed to the terms of a financial bailout from the IMF that included steep fiscal austerity measures like decreased subsidies, public sector layoffs, a currency devaluation, and

而在 1989 年，政府同意了國際貨幣基金組織（IMF）的財務紓困條件，其中包括了嚴厲的財政緊縮措施，像是減少補貼、公部門裁員、貨幣貶值，以及

Enraged by the fact that the corrupt government had embezzled billions of dollars through the state owned oil industry and then left its own people to suffer the consequences through these austerity measures, the results sparked a wave of deadly riots across the country and a sharp increase in anti government sentiment.

腐敗的政府透過國營石油產業貪汙了數十億美元，卻讓人民因這些緊縮措施承受後果，這讓民眾極為憤怒，引發了全國性的致命暴動，反政府情緒也急劇升高。

Rioting on this wave of revolt, a revolutionary named Hugo Chavez attempted to launch a failed coup attempt against the government in 1992, briefly found himself in prison, and

在這波反抗浪潮中，一位名叫 Hugo Chavez 的革命家於 1992 年發動了一場失敗的政變，短暫入獄，

then eventually emerged victorious in the country's 1998 presidential election after running on an explicitly socialist political platform with promises that he would redistribute the nation's oil wealth in order to help reduce poverty and inequality.

隨後在 1998 年總統大選中獲勝，他以明確的社會主義政治綱領參選，承諾將重新分配國家的石油財富，以幫助減少貧困和不平等。

And so began the socialist experiment in Venezuela that has lasted for decades, ever since.

就這樣，委內瑞拉的社會主義實驗開始了，一直持續至今。

Chavez's policies, at least initially, actually were quite successful at reducing the country's poverty rate.

乍看之下，Chavez 的政策起初確實相當成功地降低了國家的貧困率。

But they also set into motion the chain of events that would eventually lead to Venezuela's almost complete and catastrophic collapse.

但這些政策也啟動了一連串事件，最終導致委內瑞拉幾乎全面且災難性的崩潰。

Oil production in Venezuela peaked under his wash in the early 2000s, but

委內瑞拉的石油產量在他執政初期，也就是 2000 年代初期達到了頂峰，但

after workers at the state owned oil company PDVSA began striking in 2002, he simply fired thousands of the company's most experienced workers in the industry rather than giving in to their demands, which eliminated a huge amount of the country's technical expertise and know how to.

在國營石油公司 PDVSA 的員工於 2002 年開始罷工後，他並沒有屈服於他們的要求，反而直接解僱了數千名業界最有經驗的工人，這消除了國家大量的技術專長和知識。

He also took steps to almost completely nationalize the entire oil industry in the country through seizures of assets that were owned by the foreign oil companies like Exxon, Chevron and ConocoPhillips, which began greatly straining Venezuela's relationship with the United States and led to dramatically reduced foreign investment in the country, which hurt Venezuela's ability to keep their own refineries and operations running in the long term.

他還採取行動，透過沒收像 Exxon、Chevron 和 ConocoPhillips 等外國石油公司的資產，幾乎全面國有化了該國的整個石油產業，這開始嚴重損害委內瑞拉與美國的關係，並導致外國投資大幅減少，這影響了委內瑞拉長期維持自身煉油廠和營運的能力。

At almost the same time, he also began providing heavily subsidized Venezuelan oil to friendly, largely fellow leftist states in the region as well like Cuba and Nicaragua, which further drained the country's remaining strategic reserves within just 15 years after being elected.

幾乎在同一時間，他也開始以高度補貼的方式向該地區友好且大多是左派的國家，如古巴和尼加拉瓜，提供委內瑞拉的石油，這在他當選後僅 15 年內，進一步耗盡了國家剩餘的戰略儲備。

By 2013, Chavez oversaw the country's national debt more than double while watching their strategic reserves of oil dwindle and dwindle.

到了 2013 年，Chavez 監督下的國家債務翻倍，同時看著他們的石油戰略儲備不斷減少。

it was also a popular one that enabled Chavez to steadily expand the powers of his office to near dictatorial levels.

這也是一個受歡迎的系統，讓 Chavez 能夠穩步擴大其職權，達到近乎獨裁的程度。

He eliminated presidential term limits and he had multiple independent media outlets harassed or even shut down.

他取消了總統任期限制，並騷擾甚至關閉了多家獨立媒體。

When he died in office in 2013, Chavez's right hand man and Vice president Nicolas Maduro took over the presidency after him and he took the opportunity to rapidly coalesce his position into a full blown dictatorship.

2013 年他在任內去世後，Chavez 的左右手、副總統 Nicolas Maduro 接任總統，他趁機迅速鞏固了自己的地位，成為一個全面的獨裁者。

In 2014, just the year after he took things over, the global price of oil collapsed again from more than $100 a barrel to less than $30 a barrel by early 2016, which threw the Venezuelan economy that was still cripplingly overdependent on oil into a tailspin.

2014 年，也就是他接任的隔年，國際油價再次崩潰，從每桶 100 多美元跌至 2016 年初的每桶 30 美元以下，這讓仍嚴重依賴石油的委內瑞拉經濟陷入了急劇下滑。

Chavez's generous social welfare policies and subsidies that made him hugely popular with the people only worked so long as the price of oil high and Venezuela made lots of money.

Chavez 慷慨的社會福利政策和補貼讓他深受人民歡迎，但這只有在油價高漲、委內瑞拉賺大錢時才有效。

Once the oil price collapsed under Maduro, the nation could no longer afford its lavish Chavez era expenditures.

一旦油價在 Maduro 任內崩盤，國家就再也無法負擔 Chavez 時期的奢華支出。

Protests and riots erupted across the country as services and jobs were dramatically cut and inflation skyrocketed, to which Maduro responded to with violence and crackdowns that immediately diminished his popularity.

國內各地爆發了抗議和暴動，因為服務和工作被大幅削減，通貨膨脹飆升，Maduro 以暴力鎮壓回應，這立即削弱了他的聲望。

In 2015, the Obama administration declared Venezuela a national security threat and authorized targeted sanctions against Maduro and other government officials.

2015 年，歐巴馬政府宣佈委內瑞拉為國家安全威脅，並授權對 Maduro 和其他政府官員實施定向制裁。

But the true avalanche of sanctions and the shattering of US Venezuela relations would come later during the first Trump administration.

但真正的制裁浪潮以及美委關係的破裂，將在川普政府初期發生。

As the political and economic crisis in Venezuela deepened and Maduro grew increasingly more autocratic, the first Trump administration steadily came to embrace a policy of maximum pressure against Maduro in an attempt to force his removal from office through economic means, especially after the controversy of the 2018 election in the country.

隨著委內瑞拉政治和經濟危機的深化，Maduro 變得越來越獨裁，川普政府採取了對 Maduro 實施最大壓力政策，試圖透過經濟手段迫使他下臺，尤其是在該國 2018 年選舉引發爭議之後。

That year, Maduro claimed to have won re election to a second six year term as president in an election that was widely marred by irregularities, the banning of major opposition, candid running, rock bottom turnout and accusations of fraud.

該年，Maduro 聲稱贏得了連任，將成為總統六年，但這次選舉充斥著違規行為、主要反對派被禁、候選人資格受限、投票率極低以及舞弊指控。

All of Maduro's political opponents who ran against him refused to recognize the 2018 election's results, as did the US, Australia, the Organization of American States and the EU.

所有與 Maduro 對抗的政治對手都拒絕承認 2018 年選舉結果，美國、澳洲、美洲國家組織和歐盟也是如此。

At the same time, many of Maduro's international allies chose to support him and recognize the results, including Cuba, Nicaragua, Russia, Belarus, China, North Korea, Iran, Syria and Turkey, setting the stage for Venezuela becoming a flashpoint in the new 21st century Cold War.

同時，Maduro 的許多國際盟友選擇支持他並承認選舉結果，包括古巴、尼加拉瓜、俄羅斯、白俄羅斯、中國、北韓、伊朗、敘利亞和土耳其，這為委內瑞拉成為 21 世紀新冷戰的引爆點奠定了基礎。

The first Trump administration refused to recognize the election and first declared Maduro to be an illegitimate usurper.

川普政府拒絕承認選舉結果，並首次宣佈 Maduro 為非法篡位者。

When his second term began in January of 2019, the US recognized Juan Guaido, the head of the country's opposition controlled national assembly, as the interim president of Venezuela, instead severed its remaining diplomatic relations with Venezuela and expelled the country's diplomats from Washington.

當他於 2019 年 1 月開始第二個任期時，美國承認該國反對派控制的國民議會主席 Juan Guaido 為委內瑞拉臨時總統，並斷絕了與委內瑞拉的剩餘外交關係，將委內瑞拉外交官驅逐出華盛頓。

Long standing relations that had lasted for decades and had been strained for years were finally shattered to the point of open hostility.

維持了數十年、多年來一直緊張的長期關係，終於破裂到公開敵對的地步。