Venezuela so far, version 1.0

Quick rundown v1.0

Venezuela is currently sitting on the world's largest known oil reserves. Former leader Hugo Chavez used the rising oil prices during the 2000s to solidify his party's power and enrich both the country and his supporters, even at the expense of other economic areas of development, but at the cost of overspending based on the trend that oil prices would continue to increase or remain steady. Current leader Nicolas Maduro continued the policies set by Chavez's government with a reliance on oil exports to support Venezuela. Declining oil prices since 2014 (where the price per barrel dropped from $100 to $50) have led to the oil-reliant Venezuelan economy to begin to crumble. The bills from the past decade were due, and oil was no longer a viable answer to the nation's problems. Worse still, the government has not adjusted policy to reflect the changing reality.

As the economy has been in sharp decline, commodities and resources have become scarce or depleted. The average venezuelan has lost almost 20 pounds (8kg) since the crisis has begun. Inflation is rampant and a black market has become a primary way for many people to obtain items. Civil unrest has been a constant since 2016. Protests and marches have been commonplace, and at the time of writing over 90 people have been killed by government and police forces.

In the spring-summer of 2017, Maduro and loyalist supreme court have attempted to remove power from the national assembly (senate/legislative branch) and form a new constitutive assembly, as well as re-writing the national constitution. This move has been highly criticized by opposition and various international groups, denounced as an attempt for maduro and his supporters to acquire more power. Things are likely to continue degrading until either Maduro and his supporters are removed, or the country descends into martial law and anarchy. At the very least, until global oil prices rise or the nation diversifies its economy things are unlikely to improve for the average Venezuelan.

Who are the factions?

VENEZUELA:
On one side you have Maduro and his supporters, loyalists both in the government and in the citizenry, as well as various paramilitary groups. On the other side lies the opposition, which is more multifaceted. Luisa Ortega Diaz is the attorney general/chief prosecutor for the government. She was an ardent supporter of Chavez during his tenure, but now has emerged to be the political face of the opposition against Maduro. US media outlets have begun to write her up as the de facto leader of the opposition. Highly critical of the government's activities since 2016, she has been targeted by government sanctions: she cannot leave the country and her assets have been frozen. You also have Oscar Perez, the helicopter pilot responsible for the recent attack on the supreme court. His loyalties are unknown, but he has released videos urging the venezuelan people to rise up. In addition to this he was recently seen at an opposition rally.

UNITED STATES:
Various US politicians, including President Trump, have all made statements denouncing the Maduro government. US senator Marco Rubio especially has been the face of US opposition. He has introduced a bill in the US senate that would provide humanitarian aid to the people of venezuela, with $10 million earmarked for medical supplies and other resources. Given the US' history in providing aid to factions opposed to the sitting government, it is likely that the US will support rebels in any armed insurgency situation. While it may be easy to draw parallels to US involvement in syria, Venezuela differs in that the economy is already on the brink, mostly due to the government's incompetence and refusal to diversify its investments. It is OP's opinion that US support of rebels and citizenry would be much more justifiable in Venezuela than Syria, but the US' ulterior motives for doing so must always be questioned.

RUSSIA:
While Chavez was in office Russia and Venezuela enjoyed a good relationship, with oil and weapon deals regularly occurring. Russia has also denounced any international interference with the country, likely aimed at the US. Lavrov has stated that it is important to avoid artificially-fueled tensions and protests that violate Venezuela's laws. Nevertheless Venezuela has recently partially defaulted on a loan from Russian-based oil company Resnoft, and little has been said since spring 2017 regarding relations between the two countries.

CHINA:
China is one of the last nations likely willing to to provide loans to the venezuelan government, but beyond that little is known regarding the relations between the two countries. In a similar vein to Russia there were multiple oil deals and other projects started during the Chavez presidency, but since then little has been reported on. China may refuse to loan money to venezuela later in 2017, which could result in the Venezuelan government defaulting late 2017.