STATEMENT
On Venezuela’s Path Toward Institutional Reconstruction and Regional Prosperity | January 4, 2026
Recent events in Venezuela mark a potentially historic and consequential moment for the country and the Western Hemisphere. The military strikes on Caracas and other strategic locations, resulting in the capture and removal of Nicolás Maduro and his wife amid accusations of narcotrafficking and narco-terrorism, represent the first such U.S. action in Latin America in decades
These events must be understood within Venezuela’s democratic trajectory. On July 28, 2024, Venezuelan voters elected Edmundo González Urrutia as president, a result documented by independent observers and recognized by the United States, the European Parliament, and multiple governments across Latin America.
The regime’s refusal to accept this outcome, combined with sustained repression and U.S.-cited allegations of corruption and narcotrafficking, produced an untenable situation that undermined sovereignty, destabilized the region, and deepened Venezuela’s humanitarian and institutional crisis.
Over the past few years, Venezuela’s democratic movement has been shaped by the complementary leadership of Edmundo González Urrutia and María Corina Machado. After winning the 2023 opposition primary and being barred from running, Machado unified democratic forces behind González’s candidacy, earning broad domestic and international support and sustaining popular mobilization. Yet the current moment is marked by profound uncertainty over who actually governs Venezuela. President Trump has stated that the United States is now effectively “running” the country, while expressing doubts about the opposition’s capacity to manage a transition. This underscores a central challenge ahead: not whether the United States will play a role, but how its influence is exercised, and through which Venezuelan actors, in a manner that supports domestic legitimacy rather than undermining it.
As Venezuela enters a moment of profound uncertainty, any transition process must be anchored in two essential principles. First, the transition must be anchored in the democratic mandate expressed by Venezuelan voters on July 28, 2024, either by recognizing the legitimate victory of Edmundo González or by moving promptly toward new, credible elections that restore Venezuela to a democratic path. Second, it must establish a credible framework for institutional and economic reconstruction, supported by coordinated engagement with the United States and like-minded Western institutional and private-sector actors, to restore economic confidence, attract responsible investment, and reintegrate Venezuela into a model of regional prosperity grounded in democratic norms.
This dual imperative will be critical to Venezuela’s economic stabilization and recovery. The Venezuelan diaspora, nearly eight million people worldwide, including a rapidly growing community in the United States, represents a powerful economic and human-capital asset for reconstruction.
A successful transition should actively mobilize the diaspora’s expertise, entrepreneurial capacity, and investment potential.
The Venezuelan people have endured years of authoritarian rule, economic dysfunction and forced displacement. They deserve a peaceful transition that honors their democratic choice and restores the basic institutions of their nation. Global Americans remains committed to contributing rigorous analysis, strategic convening, and institutional expertise to advance this goal, supporting credible pathways toward democratic restoration.
