Maduro Is Gone. Now Finish the Job: Venezuela Needs a Date for Free Elections
Nine months after U.S. forces removed a dictator, Washington has the embassy, the oil deal and the leverage. In our view, the next American win is a firm election timetable.
By Clara Hughes
Label: Altas World News Opinion Estimated read time: 7 minutes Key takeaways Since U.S. forces captured Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3, Washington has reopened its embassy in Caracas, secured prisoner releases and struck an oil deal that gives the Pentagon rights to a 35% stake in a major producer [1][2][3][6]. But Venezuela still has no date for a presidential election, opposition leader MarÃa Corina Machado has not been able to return home, and protests are rising [4]. In our view, President Trump's strategy has worked so far. Now he should use America's leverage to lock in a timetable for free elections. A dictator removed On Jan. 3, 2026, U.S. forces carried out an operation in Venezuela that captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and flew them to the United States [1]. The administration has described it as a law enforcement mission supported by the military [1]. In our view, it was one of the boldest and most successful American operations in this hemisphere in a generation. A man who ruled through repression, and whom the first Trump administration refused to recognize after a disputed election, was removed without a long war [2][4]. What followed was a steady, step-by-step campaign to bring Venezuela back from the brink. The wins so far Diplomacy restored. On March 30, the U.S. formally reopened its embassy in Caracas after a seven-year closure. The State Department called it "a new chapter" in America's diplomatic presence in Venezuela [2][6]. Prisoners freed. Under U.S. pressure, interim President Delcy RodrÃguez enacted an amnesty law in February [3]. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said more than 1,000 Venezuelans were released since Maduro's removal. In late September, 39 more political prisoners were freed after a second round of U.S.-backed talks between the interim government and the opposition, according to a Venezuelan human rights group [3]. Oil working for America. The administration has struck a deal with North American Blue Energy Partner…