Rodríguez says Venezuela will hold elections; Machado cites US-outlined path to 2027 vote

Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodríguez has said that elections will be held in the country. Deutsche Welle and The Japan Times both reported her statement. According to Deutsche Welle, she did not give a date.

Opposition leader María Corina Machado spoke publicly in Caracas on Thursday. According to Deutsche Welle, these were her first public remarks since returning from 10 months in exile. Deutsche Welle reported that Rodríguez's announcement came shortly before Machado spoke. The Japan Times reported that Machado questioned when the election would take place.

Machado's account of a US timeline

Deutsche Welle quoted Machado as saying: "US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has laid out a sequence of steps for moving toward a democratic transition that includes presidential elections in 2027." She described the transition as irreversible. "The date of the election is the date of liberation," she said, according to Deutsche Welle.

The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not include any statement from the US State Department or Rubio confirming this sequence or a 2027 timeline. They also do not include an election date or timetable from Rodríguez or from Venezuelan electoral authorities.

Background

According to Deutsche Welle, former President Nicolás Maduro was captured by the United States on 3 January. He faces US drug trafficking and torture charges. Deutsche Welle also reported that Washington and Caracas agreed to an oil deal earlier this year. Under the deal, Venezuela is expected to supply 20% of its oil reserves to the United States.

According to Deutsche Welle, US President Donald Trump said in January that Machado did not have sufficient support to immediately lead Venezuela. This week, he suggested Venezuela could become the 51st US state. Machado avoided questions about both comments, Deutsche Welle reported. The outlet also said the US government has stated that Machado has every right to be in Venezuela, and has praised Rodríguez.

The Japan Times reported that Rodríguez and Machado are expected to compete for the presidency in a future election.

What is disputed

Machado was barred from running in the 2024 presidential election and backed opposition candidate Edmundo González, according to Deutsche Welle. Venezuela's electoral authorities declared Maduro the winner. González's supporters said he had won by a wide margin.

What each side says

• María Corina Machado: Her priorities include dismantling what she called the country's repressive system and securing the release of thousands of political prisoners. She denied any contact with Rodríguez. She thanked Trump for the 3 January action against Maduro, which she said opened "the floodgate to freedom", according to Deutsche Welle. On the oil deal, she said: "This agreement does not reflect the levels of transparency that Venezuelan society wants." Deutsche Welle also noted that she had "presented" Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize, placing the word in quotation marks.
• Delcy Rodríguez: There "will be elections" in Venezuela, Deutsche Welle quoted her as saying. The reports do not include a response from her side to Machado's denial of contact.
• Nicolás Maduro: He denies the US drug trafficking and torture charges, according to Deutsche Welle.

Analysis

Two timelines are now in public view, and neither is fully documented. Rodríguez has committed to elections but, in the reports reviewed, has given no date. Machado attributes a 2027 timeline to Washington, but no US confirmation appears in these reports. How the US positions itself may matter. The reports say it has backed Machado's right to be in Venezuela and has also praised Rodríguez. One possible path is that an official timetable emerges and narrows the gap between the two accounts. Another is that the date stays unsettled. That could keep the question of the timing at the centre of political debate. Transparency over the oil deal may also remain contested.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.