Thousands March Across Venezuela Demanding Elections in First Nationwide Opposition Protest in Nearly Two Years

Thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets in Caracas and other cities on Thursday, Oct. 22, to demand a presidential election, in what Reuters described as the first nationwide opposition protest in nearly two years.

The marches were organized by Vente Venezuela, the movement led by exiled opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, and took place in Caracas as well as Valencia, Maracay, San Cristobal and Maracaibo, according to Al Jazeera, which carried Reuters reporting. Time reported protests in the states of Nueva Esparta, Tachira and Zulia as well.

No date has been set for a vote since U.S. forces captured former President Nicolas Maduro in a military raid in January. Venezuela has since been led by acting President Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro's former vice president, whom President Donald Trump has backed during the transition, according to both outlets.

What Protesters Are Demanding

In Caracas, protesters gathered near Plaza Venezuela and called for presidential elections as early as 2027 and the release of all political prisoners, Time reported. Machado has said elections must take place by July 2027, according to Al Jazeera.

"We will have presidential elections very soon with Maria Corina as president," former congressman Piero Maroun said at the protest, according to the Venezuelan outlet Efecto Cocuyo, as cited by Time.

Government forces had a minimal presence at protest sites on Thursday, Al Jazeera reported. The ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela called its own supporters to march from Plaza Venezuela two hours before the opposition planned to gather there, and the opposition moved its protest to a nearby location, according to the report.

After meeting with an opposition negotiator at the presidential palace, Rodriguez appeared to refer to the marches, saying, "There are still very, very small groups that resist and believe that trying to set the country ablaze and block streets is the way for Venezuela to move forward," according to a statement reported by El Pais and cited by Time.

Why No Venezuela Elections Date Has Been Set

U.S.-backed talks between the interim government and an opposition faction led by Dinorah Figuera, the president of Venezuela's 2015 National Assembly, are aimed at remaking the country's top court and electoral council before any vote, but have not produced an agreement on elections, according to Time and Al Jazeera. Machado's movement is not part of those talks, though she has said she will not stand in their way, Al Jazeera reported.

Trump and Rodriguez have both said elections will eventually be held. Trump told Time in late September, "It's so raw now, you know that I just think it's too soon."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sept. 23 that the administration wants stabilization and economic recovery alongside a political transition. "What would threaten an enduring republic in Venezuela would be that someone is elected and they inherit a complete catastrophe, economic and social," Rubio said, according to Time.

Image: Plaza Venezuela, Caracas (file photo), by Wilfredor, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

Hold Everyone Accountable.

Sources: Time, "Venezuelans Take to the Streets to Demand Democracy" (Oct. 23, 2026): https://time.com/article/2026/10/23/venezuela-protests-presidential-elections-opposition-maduro-machado-trump/ ; Al Jazeera (with Reuters), "Venezuelans demand elections in first national protest in nearly two years" (Oct. 23, 2026): https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/23/venezuelans-demand-elections-in-first-national-protest-in-nearly-two-years