The Cautionary Tales of Leaders Who Refuse to Step Down or Leave Their Seats

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro

From the last month of 2024 to the first month of 2026, there were numerous developments that affected the leaders of countries around the world.

Although we followed some of these developments very closely due to political or geographical proximity, we were unaware of others.

During the period I mentioned, there were leaders who were overthrown by coups, leaders who were removed from office by court decisions, leaders who fled their countries, as well as leaders whose legitimacy was constantly targeted by major powers and who nevertheless continued their leadership by a thread.

Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro (Moros), whose legitimacy was questioned by US President Trump and who was accused by the US of electoral fraud and drug trafficking, was captured along with his wife in an operation carried out by US special forces using helicopters on 3 January 2026 and transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, New York.

Maduro is expected to appear before a judge in a Manhattan court for trial shortly.

Maduro, who was Vice President of Venezuela when President Hugo Chávez died on 5 March 2013, took over as interim president and won the special election held on 14 April 2013 as the candidate of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela with 50.62 per cent of the vote. From 2015 onwards, he largely governed Venezuela, which has one of the world's largest oil reserves, through decrees, using the powers granted to him by the ruling party's legislative body.

In a case brought by a New York court in 2020 on charges of “narcoterrorism” and a conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States, the Trump administration offered a $15 million reward for Maduro's capture. The Biden administration later increased this amount to $25 million, and in 2025, the Trump administration raised it to $50 million.

This is not the first time we have witnessed the US capture a country's leader through operations carried out in that country. Recent examples include the capture and execution of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in his own country, the capture and killing of Libyan leader Gaddafi, also in his own country, and some failed operations aimed at capturing the leaders of countries that supported coup attempts.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

The second leader I will discuss is Volodymyr Zelensky. Putin, the leader of Russia, one of the world's two major military powers, has been at war with Ukraine since 24 February 2022. Putin argues that Zelensky's presidency is illegal because he has not held elections when the term expired, and he wants Zelensky to step down. Interestingly, Volodymyr Zelensky was also scolded like a small child by President Trump during his visit to the White House on 28 February 2025. Trump stated that he had reached an agreement with Putin on the necessary conditions for peace and asked Zelensky to accept this peace, which carried unfavourable conditions for Ukraine. He even criticised him for not wearing a suit.

During Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the White House on 18 August, however, the tense atmosphere between him and Trump appeared to have softened. Zelensky had come to the visit in formal attire this time, and Trump also understood that the reason peace had not come to Ukraine was Putin's endless demands.

I will try to briefly explain why Russia and Ukraine, two important republics of the USSR, entered into a state of war years after the collapse of the USSR.

Let's begin the story with the ‘Euro Maidan events,’ which started with pro-EU/anti-government protests following the decision by the government of Ukraine's former President Viktor Yanukovych on 21 November 2013 to abandon the signing of an Association Agreement with the EU.

This will also make it easier to understand that one side of the Ukrainian war is Russia and the other is the European Union, and that the US became involved in these events unintentionally.

Indeed, the protests began in Kiev's Independence Square, a large square, with pro-EU/anti-government demonstrations following the decision by the government of Ukraine's former President Viktor Yanukovych on 21 November 2013 to abandon the signing of an Association Agreement with the EU. The ‘Maidan’ events led to a change of government in Ukraine.

Between 18 February 2014 and 23 February 2014, following the intervention of security forces against demonstrations against Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, 130 people lost their lives, including 18 police officers. Yanukovych fled to Russia and was dismissed from his position as President of Ukraine.

The word Meydan, which has Persian and Arabic origins, was also used in Ukraine, and the large square in Kiev where the protests took place, called Independence Square, was also given the name Euro Square (Yevromaydan).

Yanukovych, who sought refuge in Russia, declared the vote in the Ukrainian parliament illegal and invalid and requested assistance from the Russian government. Russia then illegally occupied and subsequently annexed Crimea amid ongoing developments. Eastern Ukraine was also occupied by Russia.

Petro Poroshenko won the presidential elections held on 25 May 2014 and remained in power for five years.

In the Ukrainian presidential elections, the first round of which was held on 31 March and the second round on 21 April 2019, former comedian Volodymyr Zelensky was elected as Ukraine's new President, winning 73.22% of the vote.

President Volodymyr Zelensky dissolved the current Parliament, and early elections were held on 21 July 2019. The Servant of the People Party, supported by President Zelensky, won a majority to form a government on its own after these elections, emerging as the leading party with 43.12% of the vote.

It is true that Zelensky has not held elections since 2019, as Putin claimed. On 21 February 2022, Russia announced that it officially recognised the separatist Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics within Ukraine, and on 24 February 2022, Russia began a large-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Zelensky, who stated that elections have not been held due to the war with Russia, which is now approaching its fourth year, is currently a target of Russia.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

Pictured with his wife Asma al-Assad during a visit to Moscow in 2005, Bashar al-Assad went into exile in Moscow on 8 December 2024.

In the bloody Syrian Civil War, which began in March 2011 with widespread protests against the regime, approximately 100,000 soldiers or police loyal to the regime, 130,000 militiamen from Syrian opposition forces, 18,000 SDG or PKK militants, 41,500 ISIS militants and 250,000 civilians have lost their lives.

With Bashar al-Assad leaving the country, the civil war ended, leaving nearly 6 million Syrians seeking refuge in neighbouring countries and becoming refugees.

It is reported that there are 3,750,000 Syrian refugees in Turkey, 90,000 in Lebanon, 650,000 in Jordan, 230,000 in Iraq, and 130,000 in Egypt.

Now let's look at some lesser-known incidents of dismissal.

South Korean President Yon Suk-yol

South Korea was formed after the Second World War in 1948 with the division of Korea into two separate governments in the North and South.

The Korean War began in 1950, with the United Nations, led by the United States, joining South Korea's side. Turkey also participated in this war on the UN side, sending soldiers.

Although a ceasefire was reached in 1953, a war that claimed the lives of approximately 2.5 million people, no agreement was ever signed between the two countries, and the state of war continues on paper.

With the support of the United States, South Korea emerged as a major economy in the Far East. In addition, the work of Christian missionaries in the country increased the proportion of Christians to 28 per cent.

Yon Suk-yol resigned from his position as chief prosecutor in 2021 to run in the presidential elections. He was elected and took office as South Korea's 13th President on 10 May 2022.

In a live televised address to the nation on 3 December 2024, he announced that North Korea sympathisers had seized the parliament and that he had therefore declared martial law.

With this decision, temporary authority was granted to the South Korean Army, and while police and soldiers were deployed to the parliament, helicopters were seen landing on the roof of the parliament building.

The army also issued a statement saying that all meetings and political institutions in front of the parliament were banned. The media would also come under the control of the army.

The parliament reacted strongly to this decision and declared it illegal. Despite the ban, 190 of the 300 MPs managed to enter the parliament building. The MPs blocked soldiers from entering the parliament by setting up barricades and called on the public to come to the parliament and demonstrate.

After the MPs voted to declare the martial law, which had been announced a few hours earlier, illegal, President Yon Suk-yol announced that he was lifting martial law.

The Assembly then accused President Yon Suk-yol of attempting a coup and voted to suspend him from office ten days after the martial law decision.

On 4 April 2025, the Constitutional Court unanimously approved the Assembly's impeachment decision, and Yoon was officially removed from office.

Yon Suk-yol, who was charged with treason, was arrested on 15 January 2025. Although he was released in March 2025, he was re-arrested in July 2025. He remains in prison.

Peruvian President Dina Boluarte

Peru is a country located in South America, far from Turkey. When we think of Peru, we think of llamas and the ancient Inca civilisation.

In this country, a woman named Dina Boluarte, the President, was removed from office by the Peruvian Congress on 10 October 2025 on the grounds of ‘permanent moral incapacity’.

Dina Boluarte became Peru's first female President after serving as Vice President following the removal of former President Pedro Castillo on 7 December 2022, who had attempted to dissolve the Peruvian Congress in opposition to her.

During her time in power, Boluarte continually postponed presidential elections and established an increasingly authoritarian regime by violently suppressing protests against her.

On 10 October 2025, the Peruvian Congress removed Boluarte from office on the grounds of ‘permanent moral incapacity’.

Bosnia and Herzegovina Serb President Milorad Dodik

In the photograph below, Milorad Dodik, seen shaking hands with Putin, is another leader who was forced to step down from his position. Milorad Dodik, who previously served as the Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was sentenced by a Bosnian court to one year in prison and a six-year ban on political activity on charges of defying the decisions of the High Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was subsequently removed from his position as President of the Republika Srpska within Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Although the court converted the prison sentence into a fine, Dodik was removed from office.

Milorad Dodik was actually considered a moderate leader among Bosnian Serbs. For this reason, he was appointed to important positions in the new administration after the Bosnian War.

Dodik later shifted to a line criticising the federal government in Bosnia and advocating the secession of Bosnian Serbs.

Final Word

This article discusses the deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro (Moros), Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, deposed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, deposed South Korean leader Yon Suk-yol, deposed Peruvian leader Dina Boluarte, and deposed Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik.