Venezuela could see new elections within a year, Machado says

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado told POLITICO that a credible, manually supervised transfer could yield new democratic elections within about 9–10 months, though she has not discussed timing with Trump. She argues U.S. backing could accelerate a transition, noting prior 2024 presidential and 2025 parliamentary votes were criticized as unfair, and contrasting this with long, contested nation-building efforts in other countries. The remarks came after her meeting with Trump at the White House, where no timeline was discussed.