Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, in her first substantive remarks since returning to Venezuela on Sunday, said on Thursday that the United States has suggested presidential elections take place next year, a timeline she herself has previously supported.
Speaking at a televised news conference in Caracas, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate said the next steps set out by the US State Department in recent days were very clear, including the prompt appointment of a renewed National Electoral Council, compliance with constitutional deadlines, and a presidential election next year. She added that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has backed a 2027 vote.
Machado, 59, said she would ensure that all eligible Venezuelans can cast ballots in any future election, and she thanked Rubio and President Donald Trump for their role in the ouster of Nicolás Maduro. No date for an election has yet been set by either the United States or Venezuela’s government.
Machado returned to Venezuela on Sunday after several failed attempts during the year. She was barred from running in the 2024 election, but her proxy won roundly according to tallies shared by the opposition at the time. Venezuela’s institutions backed Maduro, who was subsequently arrested in a US raid in January and now faces US drug trafficking and torture charges, which he denies.
Source: Reuters — https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/us-has-proposed-venezuela-elections-2027-opposition-leader-says-2026-10-29/
