CARACAS/MARACAY, Venezuela, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Thousandsof Venezuelans took to the streets on Thursday in the first nationwide opposition protest in nearly two years, as demonstrators demanded free elections and other political changes.
The United States has been working closely with the interim government led by acting PresidentDelcy Rodriguez since US forces captured President Nicolas Maduroin January. Both US President Donald Trump and Rodriguez, Maduro's former deputy, have said there will be elections, but have not set a date either for a legislative vote or a national contest for president.
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.
Her Vente Venezuela movement organized the protest, which took place in the capital Caracas, as well as cities including Valencia, Maracay, San Cristobal and Maracaibo.
“Seeing this makes me happy because I know change is possible," said 18-year-old cosmetology studentLeosmary Hernandez, as she gathered with hundreds of others in northern Maracay. "I’ve been through so many hardships, so many problems because of the dollar, and difficulties studying. I have high hopes for my country and for our next leader, 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 added as music boomed around protesters waving Venezuelan flags.
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 decrying political repression, dizzying inflation, poor public services and other problems in the economically battered country, including after the 2024 presidential election.
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.
Interior MinisterDiosdado 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.
NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE
US-backed talks between a faction of the opposition and the interim government, aimed at remaking the top court and the electoral council with an eye toward ensuring fairness at eventual elections, held their latest session this month, but changes could take significanttime. The negotiations do not includeMachado's political movement, though she has said she will not stand in the way of their progress.
Machado's proxy roundly won the 2024 election according to vote tallies released by the opposition. But the government, which never released full counts, backedMaduro, as did the country's legal and electoral institutions.
Amid the arrests of some of her closest collaborators, Machado went into hiding. Her lastpublic appearance in Venezuela was at protests to markMaduro's third inauguration in January 2025, where she was briefly detained.
Machado has for years sought USsupport,aligning with hawks in the Trump team who argued that Maduro — through 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.
But Trump has repeatedly praised Rodriguez's management and her willingness to welcomeUS investors, saying last month it is too soon to consider elections.
Machado's desire to return home, especially after devastating twin earthquakes in June, has causedfriction in Washington, with US officials asking her to delay her trip, Reuters has reported.
Demonstrators were also calling for the release of prisoners they say are held for political reasons.
Legal rights groupForo Penal, which represents opposition figures and others who have been detained, often on charges like treason, says there are still more than 320 political prisoners in Venezuela, despite releases that took place under an amnesty law backed by the legislature earlier this year. The government has repeatedly denied holding political prisoners and says the amnesty is generous.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Rod Nickel)
