Asking president Donald Trump to stop supporting the Venezuelan criminal dictatorship

Venezuela Needs a Genuine Democratic Transition—Not “Chavismo - Madurismo Without Maduro”

As Venezuelans who deeply love our country, we yearn for truth, justice, and freedom to prevail. We make this appeal not out of political ambition or partisan interest, but out of profound concern for the future of Venezuela—a nation whose democratic institutions, prosperity, and hope have been systematically destroyed by decades of authoritarian rule.
For years, Venezuelans have endured economic devastation, shortages of food, medicine, water, electricity, and other basic necessities. Political opponents, journalists, students, human-rights defenders, and ordinary citizens have been subjected to persecution, arbitrary imprisonment, torture, enforced disappearance, and violence. Over 8 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants are now living outside the country, one of the largest displacement crises in the world.
The fraudulent presidential election of July 2024 demonstrated once again that the regime would not surrender power through institutions it controls. The authorities failed to publish credible, detailed results, while strong evidence gathered by the opposition indicated that Edmundo González Urrutia, supported by María Corina Machado, had won decisively. The Carter Center concluded that the election did not meet international standards and could not be considered democratic.
The capture and removal of Nicolás Maduro must therefore not be confused with the liberation of Venezuela.
Removing one individual while leaving the system that sustained him in control is not regime change. Delcy Rodríguez, Jorge Rodríguez, Diosdado Cabello, the ruling party, the military hierarchy, the intelligence services, the politicized judiciary, the electoral authorities, and the machinery of repression cannot simply be repackaged and presented to the world as a democratic transition.
Human Rights Watch has warned that, despite the release of some political prisoners, the repressive apparatus created under Maduro remains largely intact. A transition that preserves that apparatus would be a false transition—one that protects those in power rather than restoring the rights of Venezuelans.
It is therefore deeply alarming that the United States government has chosen to work with Delcy Rodríguez and other senior representatives of the same political structure that destroyed Venezuela. The Trump administration has described its approach as one of stabilization, economic recovery, and eventual political transition, while emphasizing access for American and Western oil companies. At the same time, President Trump has supported Rodríguez’s interim leadership and questioned whether Venezuela is ready for elections.
Stability without liberty is not democracy.
Economic recovery without justice is not national reconciliation.
And the exploitation of Venezuela’s natural resources without the freely expressed consent of its people is not reconstruction—it is another form of dispossession.
Venezuela’s oil, minerals, industries, and national wealth belong to the Venezuelan people. They must not become bargaining chips in undisclosed negotiations intended to secure immunity, political survival, or international recognition for members of the regime. Any agreements made between the United States and Venezuela’s current authorities must be made public and subjected to democratic, legal, and international scrutiny.
It is equally unacceptable that María Corina Machado, Edmundo González Urrutia, and the democratic movement that Venezuelans supported in 2024 should be excluded, weakened, or discredited while representatives of Chavismo negotiate the country’s future.
The future of Venezuela cannot legitimately be decided between foreign powers and the remnants of the dictatorship while the Venezuelan people and their elected representatives are kept outside the room.
The recent national tragedy has also exposed the terrible consequences of institutions that serve political power rather than the population. In moments of catastrophe, Venezuelans need a competent, transparent, and accountable government—not propaganda, secrecy, political discrimination, or the manipulation of humanitarian assistance.