Massive Venezuelan Protests Call for Immediate Elections After Two‑Year Lull

Updated 22 min 3 sec ago

October 23, 2026 04:28

Thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets Thursday in the first nationwide opposition protest in nearly two years, demanding free elections and other political changes.

The United States has been working closely with the interim government led by acting President Delcy Rodriguez since US forces captured President Nicolas Maduro in January. Both US President Donald Trump and Rodriguez, Maduro’s former deputy, have said elections will happen but have not set a date for a legislative vote or a presidential contest.

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 the contested 2024 election, says elections must be held by July 2027. Her Vente Venezuela movement organized protests in Caracas, Valencia, Maracay, San Cristóbal and Maracaibo.

“Seeing this makes me happy because I know change is possible,” said 18‑year‑old cosmetology student Leosmary Hernandez, gathering with hundreds in northern Maracay. “I’ve been through so many hardships… I have high hopes for my country and for our next leader, President Maria Corina.”

“I went out to protest before… and I’m even less afraid today because I want my voice to be heard,” she added as music boomed around protesters waving Venezuelan flags.

Since the socialist movement came to power in 1999 under Hugo Chávez and later Maduro, security forces have repeatedly clashed with demonstrators decrying political repression, soaring inflation and poor public services. The ruling Socialist Party urged its supporters to march from Caracas’ Plaza Venezuela for a breast‑cancer awareness event, while the opposition gathered later nearby. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, a security services ally, was shown on state television attending the government rally.

Negotiations backed by the United States between a faction of the opposition and the interim government aim to reshape the Supreme Court and the electoral council to ensure fairness for future elections. The latest session was held this month, though substantive changes could take considerable time. Machado’s Vente Venezuela movement is not part of the talks, but she says she will not block their progress.

According to opposition vote tallies, Machado’s proxy candidate won the 2024 election, but the government, which never released full counts, declared Maduro the winner, a result upheld by the country’s legal and electoral bodies.

After several of her closest collaborators were arrested, Machado went into hiding. Her most recent public appearance in Venezuela was at protests marking Maduro’s third inauguration in January 2025, where she was briefly detained. For years she has sought US support, aligning with Trump‑administration hawks who argue that Maduro’s alleged ties to drug gangs pose a direct threat to US national security. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, face drug and torture charges in the United States and have pleaded not guilty.

Trump has repeatedly praised Rodriguez’s management and her openness to US investors, but said last month it is too soon to consider elections.

Machado’s desire to return home, especially after the devastating twin earthquakes in June, has caused friction in Washington, with US officials asking her to delay her trip, according to Reuters.

Protesters also called for the release of prisoners they say are held for political reasons. Foro Penal, a legal‑rights group representing detained opposition figures and others, reports that more than 320 political prisoners remain in Venezuela despite an amnesty law approved by the legislature earlier this year. The government denies holding political prisoners and says the amnesty reflects its generosity.

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