According to Reuters report on October 22nd local time, thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets that day to carry out the first national opposition protest in nearly two years. They demanded free elections, political change, and the release of prisoners who they claim have been detained for political reasons.
This round of protests was organized by the political party “VenteVenezuela”, led by Venezuelan opposition leader and the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Machado. The protests took place in several cities including Caracas, Valencia, and Maracaibo.
Protesters participating in protests on the streets, Reuters
Since January this year, when the US forces forcibly kidnapped Venezuelan President Maduro, the United States has been working closely with the interim government led by Vice President Ruddriguez. Both US President Trump and Ruddriguez insist that elections will be held in Venezuela, but the dates for legislative elections or presidential elections have not yet been determined.
Machado demanded that the election must be held by July 2027. After the elections in 2024, she lived in hiding for a while and has now left Venezuela for nearly a year.
Meanwhile, the opposition factions supported by the United States are still negotiating with the Venezuelan provisional government. They plan to reorganize the Supreme Court and the electoral committee in order to ensure fairness in future elections. The last round of negotiations between the two parties took place this month, but the related reforms may take a long time to complete.
Machado's political group did not participate in the negotiations, but she stated that she would not hinder the progress of the negotiations.
According to reports, Machado has been seeking American support for many years and has maintained a close alignment with those in the Trump team who are firm in their opposition to Maduro. However, Trump has praised Rodrigues’ performance in governance and his attitude of welcoming American investors. Last month, he stated that it was too early to consider holding elections.
