Venezuela, October 22, 2026
Honorable President Donald J. Trump
Honorable Secretary of State Marco Rubio Honorable members of the United States Congress
We, the undersigned of this letter, are Venezuelan citizens, both inside and outside our homeland, who in January 2026 received with genuine hope the news of Nicolás Maduro’s capture. We recognize, without reservation, that no other government in the world had until then made such a significant decision in favor of Venezuela’s freedom, and that gratitude remains intact.
I. Stabilization: a country stabilizes through cooperation, not under the tutelage of its oppressors
The Venezuelan people sadly observe that the only thing that has been “stabilized” is the oppressive regime, which, with the support of its administration, today parades on global platforms in an appalling way, giving a false impression of being “democrats,” yes, those same ones who for 27 years have shown their animosity toward the people and government of the United States of America. It is incomprehensible for Venezuelans, and it should also be for the democratic conscience of the United States, that Delcy Rodríguez and her gang of criminals are praised, supported, and even granted judicial immunity simply for showing themselves as obedient collaborators of their orders.
II. Recovery: without democracy and legal security, reconstruction is impossible Venezuela has been devastated, deliberately and systematically destroyed by a regime that has committed all kinds of crimes. Recovering from this won’t be easy, especially since all the social, political, and economic fabric has disappeared. The facts are clear: a third of the population has emigrated to uncertain destinations, all government institutions are in the hands of corrupt people, there is no respect for human rights, all citizen rights have been violated, and the country’s security is in the unscrupulous hands of national and foreign irregular forces. So it’s understandable to think that trying to recover the country with the same people who destroyed it doesn’t make much sense.
Negotiating with criminals is not pragmatism: it is undermining the principles and values that have prevailed in the North American nation for over two centuries, and those are the same principles and values we want to restore in Venezuela. Protecting factions of institutions, one defeated since 2015 and the other illegitimate, just to “negotiate” is not ethical: in the past they have shown a persistent habit of breaking agreements, and now their flaws are visible as they try to choose judges for the Supreme Court.
We are fully aware that recovery will require investment from North American and Western companies in various sectors of our economy. However, it is clear that these companies will not find the legal security they need as long as the same structure of Nicolás Maduro’s regime remains in power, now illegally replaced by Delsy Rodríguez.
Meanwhile, the people continue suffering from diseases, meager wages, insecurity, poor education, malnutrition, among other hardships.
III. Transition: Legitimacy Already Exists and Cannot Be Delayed Any Longer
Given the developments over the past ten months, it must be absolutely clear that the transition cannot wait any longer. The country immediately needs the establishment of a temporary Interim Government aligned with democracy, led by Edmundo González Urrutia, elected on July 28, 2024, by majority vote. With a democratic, legitimate government supported by the people and their rightful leaders, it is possible to restore institutions that ensure free elections, impartial justice, and laws that are strictly enforced. Only then will the transition phase truly make sense.
In that sense, all possible help is needed, directing efforts toward an orderly transition, and the help refers to correcting the misguided path taken by the Trump administration and also making the democratic voices of the OAS, the Lima Group, and others who have remained silent so far heard.
Our position
It is unacceptable to choose to keep, under a guardianship scheme, a regime that has accumulated 27 years of disgrace. The concessions granted, the lifting of fully deserved sanctions, are signals that contradict the democratic principles that the United States has defended.
Several members of this regime are now being tried in U.S. courts for crimes of which Delcy Rodríguez and other leaders have also been intellectual and material authors. It is contradictory to exempt them from blame.
Our request We hope that the commitment made in January 2026 is fulfilled with the consistency and transparency that decent and democratic Venezuela deserves, determined to be free. We formally request: The immediate establishment of a transitional Interim Government, with constitutional backing, led by Edmundo González Urrutia, to begin the reinstitutionalization of the country. A public and binding schedule for the installation of a new independent National Electoral Council and the holding of free, transparent, and auditable elections, with a manual and hybrid voting system for counting, and an updated electoral roll. The capture and prosecution of all members of the regime, treated as the criminal organization they are, who have rewards and arrest warrants against them, with no exceptions based on their degree of cooperation.The demand to the current regime for the immediate release of all political prisoners.
Mr. President, Mr. Secretary, honorable Congress members: we request a bilateral cooperation that respects national sovereignty to recover our democracy and begin sociopolitical and economic development toward a certain future.
We will know how to reward, as we have done for generations, those who join us in this process, with whom we have maintained for decades bonds of friendship and mutually satisfactory business relations.
Receive this letter for what it is: an urgent, respectful, and firm call to take the path dictated by democracy, so that the promise of freedom made in January 2026 finally becomes a concrete reality for all free Venezuelans.
Respectfully,
WE, THE PEOPLE OF VENEZUELA
Jesús Domingo Ortiz