Venezuelans demand elections in first national protest in nearly two years

No date has been set to decide on a successor for Nicolas Maduro after the former president was captured by US forces.

Supporters of Venezuela's opposition wave flags during a demonstration in Valencia, Venezuela [Juan Carlos Hernandez/Reuters]

Thousands of Venezuelans have taken to the streets in several cities to demand free elections and other political changes, in the first nationwide opposition protest in nearly two years.

US President Donald Trump and acting President Delcy Rodriguez have said there would be elections, but no date has been set for a vote to decide on a successor for Nicolas Maduro, after the former Venezuelan president was captured by US forces in a military raid in January.

list 1 of 4 US strikes on alleged drug boats may be ‘crimes against humanity’, UN says

list 2 of 4 Venezuela’s Rodriguez pledges elections, path forward in UNGA speech

list 3 of 4 Venezuelans rally for opposition leader’s return and presidential elections

list 4 of 4 ‘We are desperate’: Venezuela’s power cuts fuel growing public anger

Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, who has been outside the country for nearly a year after living in hiding following a contested 2024 election, has said elections must take place by July 2027.

Her Vente Venezuela movement organised the protest, which took place in the capital Caracas and other cities, including Valencia, Maracay, San Cristobal and Maracaibo.

“Seeing this makes me happy because I know change is possible,” said 18-year-old cosmetology student Leosmary Hernandez, as she gathered with hundreds of others in northern Maracay. “I’ve been through so many hardships, so many problems because of the dollar, and difficulties studying. I have high hopes for my country and for our next leader and president, Maria Corina.”

“I went out to protest before, when things were much tougher, and I’m even less afraid today because I want my voice to be heard,” she added.

Since January 3, the country has been led by interim President Delcy Rodriguez of the long-governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).

PSUV leaders have been accused of carrying out human rights abuses against political dissidents, including arbitrary arrest, imprisonment and torture.

After the United States launched a military operation to abduct and jail former President Nicolas Maduro, the PSUV remained in power with the support of the White House.

US President Trump has backed Rodriguez’s leadership, despite her having been Maduro’s vice president.

His administration has maintained an active role in Venezuela, exerting control over its oil resources and pressuring the Rodriguez government for reforms.

A supporter of Venezuela’s opposition waves a flag over a highway at a demonstration in Caracas to demand elections in 2027 [Fausto Torrealba/Reuters]

Minimal security presence

Venezuela’s socialist movement, in power since 1999 under late President Hugo Chavez and then Maduro, has in the past deployed security forces against protesters, but government forces had minimal presence at protest sites on Thursday, and in many smaller cities demonstrators dispersed before dark.

The ruling Socialist Party called for its supporters to march from Caracas’ Plaza Venezuela, the same place the opposition planned to gather two hours later, to a location near the presidential palace to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, known for his close ties to the security services, was pictured on state television attending the march, while the opposition supporters moved their protest to a nearby location.

US-backed talks continue

Talks between a faction of the opposition and the interim government , aimed at remaking the top court and the electoral council ahead of eventual elections, held their latest session this month, but changes could take significant time.

The negotiations, backed by the US, do not include Machado’s political movement, though she has said she will not stand in the way of their progress.

Machado’s proxy Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia claims to have won the 2024 election according to vote tallies by the opposition. But the government, which never released full counts, backed Maduro, as did the country’s legal and electoral institutions.

Machado has for years sought US support, aligning with hawks in the Trump team who argued that Maduro, through alleged links to drug gangs, represented a direct threat to US national security. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are facing drug and torture charges in the US. They have pleaded not guilty.

前总统尼古拉斯·马杜罗被美军俘虏后，尚未确定何时决定其继任者。

在委内瑞拉首都瓦伦西亚，委内瑞拉反对派支持者在示威活动中挥舞旗帜。[胡安·卡洛斯·埃尔南德斯/路透社]

数千名委内瑞拉民众走上多个城市的街头，要求举行自由选举和其他政治变革，这是近两年来首次全国性的反对派抗议活动。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普和代理总统德尔西·罗德里格斯都表示将举行选举，但尚未确定投票日期，以决定委内瑞拉前总统尼古拉斯·马杜罗的继任者。马杜罗于今年1月在美军的一次军事突袭中被俘。

联合国称，美国对涉嫌贩毒船只的四次袭击中，第一次可能构成“反人类罪”。

委内瑞拉总统罗德里格斯在联合国大会演讲中承诺举行选举并指明前进方向（共4项承诺中的第2项）

委内瑞拉民众集会呼吁反对派领导人回国并举行总统选举（共4条记录，此为第3条）

列表 4/4 “我们感到绝望”：委内瑞拉的停电加剧了公众的愤怒

反对派领导人、诺贝尔和平奖获得者玛丽亚·科琳娜·马查多在2024年大选引发争议后一直躲藏在国外，至今已近一年。她表示，选举必须在2027年7月之前举行。

她的“委内瑞拉之声”运动组织了这场抗议活动，抗议活动在首都加拉加斯以及其他城市举行，包括瓦伦西亚、马拉凯、圣克里斯托瓦尔和马拉开波。

“看到这一切让我很开心，因为我知道改变是可能的，”18岁的美容美发学生莱奥斯玛丽·埃尔南德斯在马拉凯北部与数百人聚集在一起时说道。“我经历了太多苦难，太多美元带来的问题，学习也很困难。我对我的国家和我们的下一任领导人兼总统玛丽亚·科里纳寄予厚望。”

“以前情况更艰难的时候，我也曾出去抗议过，而今天我更加不害怕了，因为我想让我的声音被听到，”她补充道。

自 1 月 3 日起，该国由长期执政的委内瑞拉统一社会主义党 (PSUV) 的临时总统德尔西·罗德里格斯领导。

保加利亚统一社会主义党（PSUV）领导人被指控对政治异见人士实施侵犯人权的行为，包括任意逮捕、监禁和酷刑。

在美国发动军事行动绑架并监禁前总统尼古拉斯·马杜罗之后，在白宫的支持下，统一社会主义党继续掌权。

尽管罗德里格斯曾是马杜罗的副总统，但美国总统特朗普仍然支持她的领导。

他的政府一直积极参与委内瑞拉事务，控制着该国的石油资源，并向罗德里格斯政府施压要求进行改革。

在加拉加斯的一次示威活动中，一名委内瑞拉反对派支持者在高速公路上挥舞旗帜，要求在2027年举行选举。[Fausto Torrealba/路透社]

最低限度的安保措施

委内瑞拉的社会主义运动自 1999 年在已故总统乌戈·查韦斯和后来的马杜罗的领导下掌权以来，过去曾部署安全部队镇压抗议者，但周四政府军在抗议地点的部署极少，许多小城市的示威者在天黑前就散去了。

执政的社会主义党号召其支持者从加拉加斯的委内瑞拉广场（反对派计划两小时后在同一地点集会）游行至总统府附近，以纪念乳腺癌宣传月。

内政部长迪奥斯达多·卡韦略因与安全部门关系密切而闻名，国家电视台拍到他参加游行的画面，而反对派支持者则将抗议活动转移到了附近地点。

美国支持的谈判仍在继续

反对派的一个派别与临时政府之间就重组最高法院和选举委员会以期在最终选举前进行谈判，本月举行了最新一次会议，但改革可能需要相当长的时间。

尽管马查多表示不会阻碍谈判取得进展，但由美国支持的谈判并未包括马查多的政治运动。

马查多的代理人埃德蒙多·冈萨雷斯·乌鲁蒂亚声称，根据反对派的计票结果，他赢得了2024年大选。但政府从未公布完整的计票结果，并支持马杜罗，该国的法律和选举机构也同样如此。

多年来，马查多一直寻求美国的支持，与特朗普团队中的鹰派人士结盟。这些鹰派人士认为，马杜罗涉嫌与贩毒集团有联系，对美国国家安全构成直接威胁。马杜罗及其妻子西莉亚·弗洛雷斯在美国面临毒品和酷刑指控，他们均已否认所有指控。