Venezuela's interim President Rodríguez promises elections

• Interim President Delcy Rodríguez promised UNGA that Venezuela will hold democratic elections, though she provided no timeline.
• Rodríguez assumed power after a US raid captured Nicolás Maduro in January and noted talks with opposition groups have begun.
• On the UNGA sidelines, Rodríguez met Donald Trump to praise renewed dialogue and discuss sovereign debt restructuring.
• Opponents and US lawmakers accused Washington of favoring oil access over extracting democratic concessions.

Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodríguez assured world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday that her country will conduct national elections as part of a transition toward "full democracy," while declining to specify a date for the vote.

Addressing the assembly months after taking power following a January raid by US forces that captured then-President Nicolás Maduro, Rodríguez framed the current political direction as an institutional rebirth.

"I want to make this very clear at this General Assembly: there will be elections in Venezuela," Rodríguez said. "Venezuela has initiated a process of democratic transformation for its rebirth, an orderly, institutional, and verifiable process, to build a country that is freer for all, more prosperous, and more reconciled with itself."

Rodríguez emphasized that her administration has initiated direct negotiations with opposition factions, promising equal conditions and the participation of all political forces while national institutions prepare the electoral framework.

Debt restructuring talks with Trump 

On Tuesday, Rodríguez held a brief meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, publicly praising the US president for restarting bilateral dialogue between Washington and Caracas.

Among the primary topics discussed during their bilateral encounter was the restructuring of Venezuela's billions of dollars in outstanding sovereign debt.

"This is the time to build the nation that many people want to return to," Rodríguez remarked, though she cautioned that economic recovery "will take time."

However, the strategy adopted by Washington has drawn significant criticism from both opposition figures and US lawmakers.

Critics contend that the Trump administration has sidelined the traditional Venezuelan opposition, dropping firm demands for immediate, free elections in exchange for securing oil production and investment deals with Rodríguez’s interim administration.

Some US legislators have voiced concern that Washington has failed to extract tangible democratic commitments from the new Venezuelan government.

Calling for international backing as Venezuela transitions from "a stage of uncertainty and conflict toward a stage of full democracy," Rodríguez reiterated that her administration remains committed to establishing equal political conditions for all groups.