According to the Venezuelan Constitution, power should pass to Vice President Nicolás Maduro — Delcy Rodríguez. However, the Venezuelan opposition may try to take advantage of this moment.
Government supporters hang posters of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and former President Hugo Chávez in downtown Caracas after US President Donald Trump announced that Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country. January 3, 2026. Photo: AP Photo/Matias Delacroix
CNN describes three possible scenarios.
First — formally constitutional. In the event of what is called the «absolute absence» of the president, the vice president — Delcy Rodríguez — takes over and calls elections within 30 days. The newly elected president then serves a full six-year term.
The second scenario is the collapse of the regime, where key figures of the regime resign or flee. The most likely opposition candidate is Edmundo González Urrutia, who participated in the 2024 elections. González, a scholar and long-time diplomat, is currently in exile in Spain. He is supported by the recent Nobel Peace Prize laureate, democratic activist María Corina Machado. Speaking in Oslo after receiving the award, Machado stated that her movement is preparing for an «orderly and peaceful transition» as soon as Maduro leaves. In December, she noted that González had invited her to become vice president and that the «overwhelming majority» of the police and armed forces would obey the orders of the new administration once the political transition begins.
The third scenario is a military takeover. The current Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino López, who spoke after the US strikes, stated that Venezuela would resist the presence of foreign troops in the country. «This invasion represents the greatest insult the country has ever endured,» he added.
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дзеля нас літвінаў-беларусаў прыярытэт нумар адзін - існаванне Беларусі, яе незалежнасць і суверэнітэт. І любыя падыходы павінны сыходзіць менавіта з гэтага . Вы з гэтым падыходам- кодам згодны ? 1991 на шляху , галоўнае «не прапусціць вакно магчымасцей» гэтым разам. Трамп ведае Р. Рэйгана справу добра !