Venezuelans demand elections in first national protest in nearly two years

Thousands of Venezuelans have taken to the streets in a number of cities to demand free elections and other political changes, in the first nationwide opposition protest in almost two years.

Key points

• Since January 3, the country has been led by interim President Delcy Rodriguez of the long-governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
• Machado's proxy Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia claims to have won the 2024 election according to vote tallies by the opposition.
• It took place in the capital Caracas and other cities, including Valencia, Maracay, San Cristobal and Maracaibo.
• As she gathered with hundreds of others in northern Maracay, "Seeing this makes me happy because I know change is possible, " remarked 18-year-old cosmetology student Leosmary Hernandez.
• After the United States introduced a military operation to abduct and jail former President Nicolas Maduro, the PSUV remained in power with the backing of the White House.

After the former Venezuelan president was captured by US forces in a military raid in January, US President Donald Trump and acting President Delcy Rodriguez have remarked there would be elections, but no date has been set for a vote to decide on a successor for Nicolas Maduro.

Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado. This person has been outside the country for almost a year after living in hiding after a contested 2024 election, has noted elections must take place by July 2027.

Her Vente Venezuela movement organised the protest. It took place in the capital Caracas and other cities, including Valencia, Maracay, San Cristobal and Maracaibo.

As she gathered with hundreds of others in northern Maracay, "Seeing this makes me happy because I know change is possible, " remarked 18-year-old cosmetology student Leosmary Hernandez. "I've been through so plenty of hardships, so numerous challenges as of the dollar, and difficulties studying. I have high hopes for my country and for our next leader and president, Maria Corina."

"I went out to protest before, when things were much tougher, and I'm even less afraid today because I want my voice to be heard, " she continued.

PSUV leaders have been accused of carrying out human rights abuses against political dissidents, including arbitrary arrest, imprisonment and torture.

US President Trump has backed Rodriguez's leadership, despite her having been Maduro's vice president.

His administration has maintained an active role in Venezuela, exerting control over its oil resources and pressuring the Rodriguez administration for reforms.

Venezuela's socialist movement, in power since 1999 under late President Hugo Chavez and then Maduro, has previously deployed security forces against protesters, but administration forces had minimal presence at protest sites on Thursday, and in numerous smaller cities demonstrators dispersed before dark.

Notably, the ruling Socialist Party pressed its supporters to march from Caracas' Plaza Venezuela, the same place the opposition planned to gather two hours afterwards, to a location near the presidential palace to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

While the opposition supporters moved their protest to a nearby location, interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, known for his close ties to the security services, was pictured on state television attending the march.

Discussions between a faction of the opposition and the interim administration, aimed at remaking the top court and the electoral council ahead of eventual elections, held their latest session this month, but changes could take significant time.

Though she has remarked she will not stand in the way of their progress, the negotiations, backed by the US, do not include Machado's political movement.

Machado's proxy Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia claims to have won the 2024 election according to vote tallies by the opposition. As did the country's legal and electoral institutions, but the administration, which never issued full counts, backed Maduro.

Machado has for years sought US backing, aligning with hawks in the Trump team who argued that Maduro, through alleged links to drug gangs, represented a direct threat to US national security. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are facing drug and torture charges in the US. They have pleaded not guilty.

In short, venezuelans demand elections in first national protest in nearly two years is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.