On Sunday, hundreds rallied in Caracas and other Venezuelan state capitals, calling for opposition leader Maria Corina Machado’s safe return from exile and presidential elections. Activists accuse the government of blocking her return; authorities deny it.
Machado has been in exile for nine months. Courts under former President Nicolas Maduro barred her from the last presidential election; her stand-in candidate is widely believed to have won almost two-thirds of the vote, though Maduro claimed victory.
More than three dozen political prisoners were released late last week following a second round of US-backed talks between the interim government and opposition. Interim leader Delcy Rodriguez said at the UN General Assembly that elections would be part of a transition to “full democracy,” but gave no date.
