USA (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Experts say Nicolás Maduro leadership could emerge from opposition figures María Corina Machado and Edmundo González, including a Nobel laureate.
The president of the Economic Inclusion Group, Jorge Jraissati, a Venezuelan, stated to Fox News Digital that
“Machado and Gonzalez would assume a transitional government in Venezuela.”
Seventy percent of Venezuelans support them. They would take the lead throughout this moment of change.
“I think Machado has the ability and integrity to lead this very delicate transition,”
he continued. Her ability to surround herself with competent young Venezuelans rather than seasoned politicians will be crucial.
After González decisively defeated Maduro by a margin of more than two to one in the 2024 election, the United States acknowledged him as the rightful leader of Venezuela. Machado was replaced by González when the Maduro-run high court barred her from seeking the presidency. Maduro disregarded the outcome.
While Machado has yet to comment on Maduro’s fall, just last month she told that
“I am absolutely grateful to President Donald Trump for every gesture, every signal and every moment that he has stood with the Venezuelan people. I have watched it very closely, and I know what it has meant for those who are fighting to reclaim democracy and freedom in our country.”
Machado, who was in hiding at the time due to Maduro’s attempts to suppress the opposition, stated,
“I am very grateful to them, and this is a measure of what this recognition means to the Venezuelan people,”
in response to the announcement that he had won the Nobel Prize in December.
After accepting her Nobel Prize in Norway, Ana Corina Sosa, her daughter, stated that her mother
“wants to live in a free Venezuela”
and
“will never give up on that purpose.”
After a risky operation to get her out of the country, Machado would later show up in Norway.
Experts point to a large field of hazardous characters who could try to take control now that Maduro is gone if neither opposition leader María Corina Machado nor Edmundo González are able to fill the void in a post-Maduro Venezuela.
The most powerful and feared person in the regime is Diosdado Cabello. According to La Nación, he has been Chavismo’s number two for a long time and has broad control over the propaganda and party apparatus. He has authority over the interior and judicial departments as well as internal political enforcement.
Another important person in position for any succession scenario is Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly and one of Maduro’s closest political operatives. La Nación emphasizes his prominence within the ruling class, citing his positions as minister of communications and mayor.
The vice president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, is seen as a key political figure in the government and a member of a strong governing pair alongside her brother Jorge. Her impact is felt in the diplomatic, economic, and institutional domains.
As a member of Maduro’s inner circle, she was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury for her role in undermining democratic governance, and the European Union has placed her under sanctions for violating human rights and undermining the rule of law.
One of the most dreaded individuals in the security establishment is Ivan Hernández Dala, who leads Venezuela’s military counterintelligence department (DGCIM) and the presidential guard. He has considerable leverage in power struggles because of his control over internal repression. In 2019, the State Department designated him due to his involvement in egregious human rights violations.
La Nación portrays Venezuela’s longtime defense minister, Vladimir Padrino López, as the backbone of the military system and the guarantee of Maduro’s survival. He maintains the loyalty of the armed forces, creating an axis of control between Maduro and Padrino.
What are the transition challenges?
María Corina Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, and opposition leader Edmundo González are deposited as likely successors to ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, per Caracas expert Jorge Jraissati of the profitable Addition Group.
Machado, who led the opposition primary palm but was barred from the 2024 race, backed González as her makeshift seeker; their claimed landslide palm( per opposition censuses) enjoys 70 popular support amid Chavismo’s implosionpost-U.S. prisoner operation.
Both leaders, in exile during Maduro’s rule, declared 2026 as Venezuela’s” time of freedom” in a common New Year’s communication, emphasizing concinnity and transnational abettors ; U.S. recognition of González bolsters legality, though Diosdado Cabello or Jorge Rodríguez could battle for power if detainments arise.