In the weeks following the US military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the world’s attention turned to who was best placed to run a country that had spent 13 years under his authoritarian regime.
Since Maduro’s unceremonious ouster at the hands of US special forces on January 3, the right to succeed him has been claimed by: Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former deputy, currently sworn in as acting president with the apparent support of US President Donald Trump; Trump himself, who has previously claimed to be “in charge” of Venezuela; and the Venezuelan opposition, with leader María Corina Machado saying last month that her coalition should lead the country. Machado won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for…