When American forces took Nicolas Maduro out of Venezuela in January 2026, his vice-president, Delcy Rodriguez, was sworn in as acting president by institutions his party controls. The men who commanded the army, the courts and the intelligence services kept their posts. The opposition, whose candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won the 2024 election according to the polling-station records it published, expected to take office. Eight months later it has not, no election date has been set, and the American president says the country is not ready for one.
The intervention, the oil and each side's full account: Venezuela after the American intervention.
Where it stands · September 2026
In September 2026 Alex Saab, an ally of Nicolás Maduro, pleaded guilty in a United States money laundering case. Venezuela and an opposition faction weighed a deal to move $4 billion in gold from the United Kingdom to the United States. Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela's interim president, met Trump and Sánchez at the United Nations and promised elections there. María Corina Machado was blocked from returning to Venezuela as Rodríguez met Trump. Venezuela freed 39 political prisoners after talks.
What the dispute is about
Which mandate counts. The constitution's line of succession, which puts the vice-president in charge; the vote of 2024, which by the published records the opposition won; or the power of the country that removed the president and now decides the pace.
When to vote. The opposition wants the 2024 result honoured or a new election soon. The interim government speaks of stability first. Washington agrees with the interim government.
Justice. Several thousand people were jailed for politics under Maduro. Many have been freed by amnesty. Those who ran the prisons have not been touched, and the amnesty covers them too.
