Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado called Thursday for presidential elections in 2027, in her first news conference since returning to Caracas, BBC, Al Jazeera and Latin America Reports reported^1,2,3. She did not give an exact date¹.

Interim President Delcy Rodríguez, speaking the same day, said elections would be held and that her government should oversee a transition of that scale, BBC reported; she did not set a date¹. Al Jazeera said she pledged votes with the world as witness². Latin America Reports said she spoke of a renewed electoral authority under the constitution³.

Machado thanked President Donald Trump, his administration and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Al Jazeera reported². BBC said she credited Washington with opening what she called a floodgate to freedom by capturing former President Nicolás Maduro¹. She said she had no message or invitation to meet Rodríguez and would not personally join election talks between other opposition figures and the government^1,3.

She criticized a recent U.S. oil arrangement with Caracas, saying it did not reflect the transparency Venezuelan society wants, Al Jazeera reported². Latin America Reports said she had not seen the contract³.

Machado returned Sunday after more than 10 months abroad, those accounts said^2,3. She said she had come home to mobilize society^2,3. What timetable, if any, Rodríguez and Washington will accept for a 2027 vote was not specified in these reports^1,2.