This chapter introduces the negotiation processes that failed to resolve the crisis between 2014 and 2024, even as millions of Venezuelans endured a humanitarian catastrophe inside and outside the country. It presents the central argument that negotiation collapse is likely in a deadlock scenario under conditions of HUSSS: high levels of polarization, fragmentation among the parties involved, and profiteering. This section also outlines the book’s structure: tracing the structural and contemporary causes, key riser events, and evolving phases of the crisis; reviewing relevant negotiation and stalemate theories; proposing and deconstructing the HUSSS theoretical framework; and analyzing each of the seven negotiation case studies, categorized into three generations or phases.