American couple: The United States is preparing the ground for elections in Venezuela
The United States expects to achieve the inclusion of opposition representatives in the Venezuelan government, experts interviewed by Izvestia believe. On January 28, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with one of its leaders, Maria Corina Machado, and also addressed the Senate, where he stated that the United States would "closely monitor the actions of the interim authorities" of the country. And he did not rule out the use of force "to ensure maximum cooperation" from Venezuela. However, for now, the United States is developing a dialogue with Acting President Delcy Rodriguez. Former leader Nicolas Maduro continues to be held in an American prison. The Russian Foreign Ministry told Izvestia that Moscow condemns Maduro's capture and continues to advocate for his immediate release.
The US dialogue with the Venezuelan opposition
It has been almost a month since the United States conducted an operation to capture Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela is now officially led by Delcy Rodriguez, who previously served as vice president. On January 28, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke at a Senate hearing, where he reported on the operation in Caracas. Among other things, he said that the United States would "closely monitor the actions of the interim authorities" of the country and "are ready to use force to ensure maximum cooperation if other methods prove ineffective."
Rubio then received Maria Corina Machado, perhaps the most important representative of the Venezuelan opposition, at the State Department. The American administration openly supports it. Over the past month, US President Donald Trump has had contact with Machado at least twice: on January 22 during a telephone conversation and on the 15th in person at the White House. The meeting lasted more than two hours, and following its results, the Venezuelan oppositionist "presented" Trump with the Nobel Peace Prize, which she was awarded last year.
At the same time, the White House is establishing contact with Acting President Delcy Rodriguez. On January 14, Trump had his first phone conversation with her, calling him "excellent" and the Venezuelan leader a "wonderful man." Even Rodriguez's recent words that Caracas would not tolerate any orders from "external forces" in response to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant's statement about U.S. plans to govern Venezuela and control the sale of oil and its other resources did not overshadow the general background of the dialogue. Trump described relations with the country's authorities as "very good."
The American leader bluntly says that although Machado is "sweet," she does not have enough support in Venezuela. However, he had previously stated that he would like to see her involved in resolving the situation in the country. It is worth noting that in addition to Machado, there are other opposition leaders in Venezuela. The most prominent is Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who was Maduro's main opponent in the 2024 presidential election. He is currently in Spain. In January 2025, Gonzalez was hosted at the White House by former US President Joe Biden. Then the Venezuelan politician said that he was already in contact with Donald Trump's team. "Our relationship will be very close and beneficial for Venezuela and the United States," Gonzalez said.
Another well—known Venezuelan oppositionist is Henrique Capriles, a member of the National Assembly. In 2012, he was the only opposition candidate, but lost the presidential election to Hugo Chavez, gaining about 44%. Capriles ran again in 2013 after Chavez's death, but Nicolas Maduro won by a small margin. Now Capriles declares that he does not want to be the head of state, and openly supports Machado and Gonzalez.
Experts believe that the White House is still generally satisfied with the current government in Venezuela. At the same time, the United States is interested in including opposition representatives in the Venezuelan government in the future.
— I think negotiations are possible to somehow integrate someone from the opposition or include them in the government. They will try to diversify the base left over from the time of Hugo Chavez at the expense of other political forces," Andrei Kortunov, an expert at the Valdai Club, told Izvestia.
Egor Lidovskaya, Director General of the Hugo Chavez Latin American Center, believes that Washington's current priority is to maintain stability in the country.
— The United States is interested in, on the one hand, turning Venezuela into a colony and maximizing profits, on the other hand, their interest is in maintaining stability in the country, since a possible civil war could both harm Trump's image and scare off potential investors, whom he is actively and not yet very successfully inviting to Venezuela. for the revival of the oil industry," the analyst noted.
However, if Trump does not get the desired results from the Chavistas in the foreseeable future, it is very likely that he will insist on a gradual transformation of Venezuela's political system. At the same time, according to the expert, Donald Trump will try to do this as carefully as possible, since after Maduro's capture, any pro-American force in the country is perceived as hostile.
When can new elections be held?
Nicolas Maduro himself, along with his wife, Celia Flores, is currently in prison in New York. He was charged with drug terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of weapons and explosive devices. On January 5, he declared that he was "still the president of Venezuela" and "not guilty of any of the above." The next hearing in the Maduro case is scheduled for March 17.
On January 3, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had a telephone conversation with Delcy Rodriguez. At the same time, Russia condemned the American military operation. The Russian Foreign Ministry told Izvestia that Russia firmly stands by the fact that Venezuela should be guaranteed the right to determine its own fate without any destructive outside interference.
— We consistently advocate solving any existing problems through constructive dialogue and respect for international legal norms, primarily the UN Charter. We are convinced that Latin America and the Caribbean should remain a zone of peace. We confirm Russia's unwavering solidarity with the Venezuelan people and support for the efforts of the official authorities to protect state sovereignty and national interests," the ministry said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry recalled that in their statements dated January 3 and 6, the speech of Russia's permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzi on January 5, as well as in the comments of the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry called for the immediate release of the legitimately elected President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
"Our position on this issue remains unchanged and is of a principled nature," the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed.
However, it is not clear when the next presidential election may take place in Venezuela. According to the Constitution, the President is replaced by the Executive Vice President for a period of up to 90 days, that is, approximately until April 3, 2026. This period may be extended for another 90 days by a decision of the National Assembly. If the parliament, by a majority vote, recognizes the temporary absence of the president as permanent, the situation is legally reclassified as "leaving office," and then an election date must be set within 30 days.
Egor Lidovskaya notes that there is currently no serious political force in Venezuela with popular support, except for the Chavistas. But if the United States makes a fundamental decision on the need to change them, such an opposition will be created artificially from the outside with the involvement of broad monetary and information resources, he believes.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
