Thousands of Venezuelans have taken to the streets in several cities to demand free elections and other political changes, in the first nationwide opposition protest in nearly two years.
asserted
Thousands → take → years
US President Donald Trump and acting President Delcy Rodriguez have said there would be elections, but no date has been set for a vote to decide on a successor for Nicolas Maduro, after the former Venezuelan president was captured by US forces in a military raid in January.
asserted
president → act → January
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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 a contested 2024 election, has said elections must take place by July 2027.
uncertain
elections → allege → July
Her Vente Venezuela movement organised the protest, which took place in the capital Caracas and other cities, including Valencia, Maracay, San Cristobal and Maracaibo.
asserted
which → organise → Valencia
“Seeing this makes me happy because I know change is possible,” said 18-year-old cosmetology student Leosmary Hernandez, as she gathered with hundreds of others in northern Maracay.
asserted
she → see → Maracay
“I’ve been through so many hardships, so many problems because of the dollar, and difficulties studying.
asserted
I → study → dollar
I have high hopes for my country and for our next leader and president, Maria Corina.”
asserted
I → have → leader
“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 added.
asserted
she → go → ?
Since January 3, the country has been led by interim President Delcy Rodriguez of the long-governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
PSUV leaders have been accused of carrying out human rights abuses against political dissidents, including arbitrary arrest, imprisonment and torture.
After the United States launched a military operation to abduct and jail former President Nicolas Maduro, the PSUV remained in power with the support of the White House.
asserted
PSUV → lead → House
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 government for reforms.
asserted
administration → back → reforms
Venezuela’s socialist movement, in power since 1999 under late President Hugo Chavez and then Maduro, has in the past deployed security forces against protesters, but government forces had minimal presence at protest sites on Thursday, and in many smaller cities demonstrators dispersed before dark.
asserted
demonstrators → deploy → dark
The ruling Socialist Party called for its supporters to march from Caracas’ Plaza Venezuela, the same place the opposition planned to gather two hours later, to a location near the presidential palace to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
asserted
opposition → rule → Month
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, known for his close ties to the security services, was pictured on state television attending the march, while the opposition supporters moved their protest to a nearby location.
asserted
supporters → know → location
US-backed talks continue
Talks between a faction of the opposition and the interim government, 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.
uncertain
changes → back → time
The negotiations, backed by the US, do not include Machado’s political movement, though she has said she will not stand in the way of their progress.
asserted
she → back → progress
Machado’s proxy Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia claims to have won the 2024 election according to vote tallies by the opposition.
uncertain
proxy → claim → opposition
But the government, which never released full counts, backed Maduro, as did the country’s legal and electoral institutions.
asserted
institutions → release → Maduro
Machado has for years sought US support, 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.
asserted
Maduro → seek → security
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are facing drug and torture charges in the US.
asserted
Maduro → face → US
They have pleaded not guilty.
asserted
They → plead → ?
The Aporia
