Nicolás Maduro has a knack for defying prophecies of his demise.

When he was elected president of Venezuela in 2013, people said he would not last 12 months in office. Thirteen months later, when protests racked the nation, people said his days were numbered. The year after that, when opposition parties won a congressional majority, and again when they fought for a recall referendum in 2016, and yet again with the return of mass protests in 2017, people said, this will be the end of Maduro. Most of all, Maduro was not meant to survive this year’s campaign to oust him — an international effort that began in January and reached a peak last weekend.

And yet, Nicolás Maduro remains the de facto president of Venezuela.

This reality creates a problem for the United States. Last month, the United States imposed economic sanctions designed to hasten Mr. Maduro’s exit. If he goes, the world will rejoice. If not — if Mr. Maduro hangs on to power — the sanctions will deepen Venezuelans’ suffering. To prevent this, the United States needs a backup plan.

No one questions that Nicolás Maduro has wrought destruction: the worst economic collapse in recorded Latin American history, relentless trampling of political rights and merciless police violence. Poverty has risen to 94 percent from 27 percent.

For millions in Venezuela and around the world who want this regime to end, hope appeared last month in the form of the opposition politician Juan Guaidó. On January 23, Mr. Guaidó took the oath of office as interim president of Venezuela, promising to call for elections; the United States immediately recognized his presidency.