This book is not about a single night, a single raid, or a single courtroom. It is the story of how Nicolás Maduro rose from union halls and bus routes in Caracas to the center of power—and how that power hardened, endured, and ultimately collapsed under the weight of its own contradictions. Written in a calm, narrative voice, Rise and Fall traces Nicolás Maduro's ascent after Hugo Chávez, the erosion of Venezuela's institutions, the deepening economic and humanitarian crisis, and the global consequences of a state accused of blurring the line between governance and organized crime. It follows the long arc from loyalty to control, from legitimacy to isolation, culminating in Operation Absolute Resolve — the unprecedented U.S. capture of a sitting head of state and his arraignment in a foreign court. More than a political biography, this is a story about power: how it survives without belief, how systems decay quietly, and how nations—and people—live with the consequences long after leaders fall.