US proposes Venezuela elections for 2027, opposition leader Machado says

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Thursday the United States has suggested the country hold presidential elections next year,

a timeline she has previously supported, in her first substantive remarks since returning last weekend.



Machado's return to Venezuela risks straining her ties with the administration of US President Donald Trump, which captured then-President Nicolas Maduro in a January raid. Maduro is facing US drug trafficking and torture charges, which he denies.



Washington has said Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has every right to be in Venezuela, but Trump has also praised acting President Delcy Rodriguez. The Trump administration supports negotiations between the Rodriguez government and opposition groups which do not include Machado's Vente Venezuela movement on overhauling Venezuela's electoral council and top court before the next elections.