María Corina Machado slips that Venezuela could hold elections in less than a year if Trump gives the green light

The head of the White House, after ordering the capture of autocrat Nicolás Maduro in a dazzling military operation launched on Caracas on January 3, has repeated on several occasions that control of Venezuela and its oil resources could last for several years. “Only time will tell,” he said. The New York Times.

Trump received María Corina Machado in mid-January in Washington. During the meeting, the Venezuelan opponent presented the Republican president with his Nobel Peace medal and declared that he could be counted on for “the freedom of Venezuela” and the release of all political prisoners. However, at the meeting A hypothetical calendar to call democratic elections was not addressed..

After the capture of Maduro, the Trump Administration has opted for a pragmatic approach to the Government of Venezuela, placing in power Delcy Rodríguez, until then number two of Chavismo. Despite the public statements of the president in charge criticizing the capture of Maduro, Washington has celebrated that it is complying with all demands.

In the interview with PoliticoMachado has expressed his optimism that Venezuelans will go to the polls in a relatively short period of time. “We have a solid democratic culture. We have an organized society. We have a legitimate leadership with enormous popular support and our Armed Forces also support the transition to democracy,” he guaranteed.

Venezuela held presidential elections in 2024 in which the opposition candidate won Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, despite the fact that the Chavista regime appropriated the victory. “If we were able to do that under such extreme conditions, imagine now, with the support of the United States Government, when people feel that we are not alone,” said Machado.

Government-opposition contacts

The president of the Venezuelan Parliament and chief negotiator of Chavismo, Jorge Rodriguezstated on Wednesday that he hopes that the amnesty project proposed by Delcy Rodríguez “expeditiously promote” political dialogue called by the Government.

After a meeting with parties from a sector of the opposition to start the dialogue process, the deputy said that the bill is “an initial unilateral contribution” from the Executive, that it was decided “without any type of consultation” and that he hopes to achieve consensus so that it is approved unanimously in the Legislature.

In statements broadcast on the state channel Venezuelan Television (VTV), Rodríguez said that they hope that the amnesty for those detained from 1999 to the present is “sufficiently extensive” so that “all sectors” that “are not involved in serious crimes” can be released.

In this sense, he pointed out that the legislation will serve to establish “the mechanisms” for the releases, and he hopes that it will give “a powerful” and “powerful” message of the “intention of a new political moment” in the South American country.

These announcements occurred in the midst of a release process initiated on January 8 by the Government in charge, which affirms that until now 895 people have been releaseds.