In short
- Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s interim president, said at the UN General Assembly that elections will be held, but she did not set a date.
- Nicolás Maduro was seized by US forces and taken to New York to face drug-trafficking charges; Rodríguez was sworn in days later.
- US President Donald Trump said Washington had signed “the largest oil deal in history covering 65bn barrels of oil” with Rodríguez’s interim government.
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the two presidents discussed elections but called first for a “political transition process” to rebuild institutions.
- Opposition leader María Corina Machado is barred from standing for office and an adviser said three attempts to return to Venezuela this week were thwarted.
Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, said at the UN General Assembly that elections will be held as part of a transition to “full democracy”, without setting a date. Rodríguez was sworn in days after her predecessor, Nicolás Maduro, was seized by US forces and taken to New York to face drug-trafficking charges.
What did Delcy Rodríguez say about elections in Venezuela?
Rodríguez told the assembly that “there will be elections in Venezuela” and that the Venezuelan people would determine “the right moment” to hold them. She gave no tentative date, and Venezuela’s opposition criticised her for it. She also did not mention Maduro once, despite having been a close ally and his vice-president until his ouster by the US. The absence of any timetable has been a central feature of her statements at the UN General Assembly.
What did Donald Trump say at the UN?
US President Donald Trump, addressing the same assembly, called Maduro an “outlaw dictator, a real criminal” and celebrated the signing of what he described as “the largest oil deal in history covering 65bn barrels of oil” with Rodríguez’s interim government. “To the victor belong the spoils,” Trump said, adding that “if necessary, we will use our unmatched military might to secure the vital national interest of the United States”. A US-led firm has already won 100-year rights to 17 Venezuelan oilfields. Trump did not mention elections in his speech; he told the LA Times earlier this month that he did not think Venezuela was ready.
What did Marco Rubio say about a transition?
Trump and Rodríguez met briefly on the sidelines of the assembly, talks Rodríguez has described as “historic”. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who attended, said the two presidents discussed elections but urged Venezuelan opposition politicians to be patient. Rubio said a “political transition process” must first rebuild the institutions needed for free and fair elections. “What we don’t want to see (…) would be that someone is elected, and they inherit a complete catastrophe, economic and social,” he said. Rubio pointed to negotiations between Venezuela’s interim government and some opposition members as a sign of progress.
Why is María Corina Machado absent from the talks?
Critics of those negotiations note that Venezuela’s most prominent opposition leader, María Corina Machado, is not taking part. Machado left Venezuela in December to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo and has not been able to return since; one of her advisers said three attempts to travel home this week were all thwarted. She remains barred from standing for office under a ban imposed by the Maduro government, and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello has said that if she returned, the authorities would have “a surprise” in store for her. Critics of Rodríguez’s government have also long denounced the 2024 election, after which Maduro was declared president and she vice-president, as fraudulent.
When was Nicolás Maduro seized?
US forces raided the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, less than nine months before Rodríguez’s UN address, seizing the presidential couple and killing about 100 people. Rodríguez thanked Trump “for his willingness to take the path of diplomatic relations and cooperation”, and said the two governments were “working seriously to resolve existing differences through dialogue”. She has enjoyed the backing of the Trump administration despite her previously close ties to Maduro.
Frequently asked questions
Will Venezuela hold elections?
Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, said at the UN General Assembly that elections will be held, but she did not set a date. She said the Venezuelan people would determine “the right moment”.
Who is running Venezuela now?
Delcy Rodríguez is Venezuela’s interim president. She was sworn in days after Nicolás Maduro was seized by US forces and taken to New York to face drug-trafficking charges.
Why is María Corina Machado not in the negotiations?
Venezuela’s interim government is negotiating with some opposition members, but María Corina Machado, the most prominent opposition leader, is not taking part. She is barred from standing for office and has been unable to return from Oslo, where she received the Nobel Peace Prize.
What did Marco Rubio say about elections in Venezuela?
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Donald Trump and Delcy Rodríguez discussed elections, but he urged opposition politicians to be patient, saying a “political transition process” must first rebuild the institutions needed for free and fair elections.
With reporting from BBC News.
Stock image, not from the events described. City Skyline — Joe deSousa / Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)
