Maduro's successor announces “free and fair elections”

Delcy Rodriguez, who took over as Venezuela's president after the overthrow of Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces, said her country would hold “free and fair elections.” However, in an interview for NBC broadcast on Thursday, she did not provide a specific date.

When asked whether elections could be held in Venezuela before the end of US President Donald Trump's term, i.e. within the next three years, Rodriguez replied in the affirmative.

“We will have elections in this country, of course fair and free, as the constitution provides, and we will need political dialogue to ensure that these elections can be held,” she said, according to a translation by NBC.

– The election schedule will be determined through political dialogue with opposition parties – she added.

The authorities of the US and many other countries did not recognize Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela, and the 2024 presidential elections he allegedly won were widely assessed as fraudulent.

Rodriguez stressed that she considers Maduro the country's “rightful president” and expressed regret at his detention by U.S. forces. However, she assured that she is cooperating with the administration of US President Donald Trump.

It was the first interview Rodriguez gave to foreign media since the January 3 operation, in which American commandos captured Maduro and took him to the United States, where he stood trial on charges including: for a “narco-terrorist conspiracy”.

In excerpts from the interview published earlier on Thursday, Rodriguez said she had been invited to the United States. She also assessed that if opposition leader Maria Corina Machado returns to the country, she will have to “answer to Venezuela” why she supported the US military intervention and the imposition of sanctions on the Maduro regime.

On Wednesday, American Energy Minister Chris Wright visited Caracas. He stated that Venezuela is ruled by Venezuelans, but the US controls its largest source of income, which is the export of crude oil, which gives them leverage to put pressure on the authorities in Caracas. (PAP)

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