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<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nThe road has not been easy. Disagreements were momentarily set aside in light of the overwhelming support for Machado\u2019s leadership, validated by the results of the 2023 primary election. The annulment of the July 2024<\/a> election results and the ensuing brutal political persecution\u2014with the winning candidate, Edmundo Gonz\u00e1lez, fleeing into exile in Spain and Machado forced into hiding\u2014marked the end of the electoral path in Venezuela. In this new stage of political resistance<\/a>, Venezuelans both inside and outside the country have witnessed the consolidation of Maduro\u2019s autocratic regime, while the rest of the world focuses on dealing with other anti-democratic expressions in Europe and North America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The abandonment of Latin America, and more specifically, the Venezuelan crisis, once again exposed the political helplessness of Venezuelans, whose leaders are persecuted and driven to evade Maduro\u2019s threats of imprisonment. Moreover, unlike in previous moments of tension between the Maduro regime and the opposition, Venezuelans who participated in the July 2024 presidential election were targeted with fabricated accusations, devoid of any legal basis, as a means of intimidation and punishment against the opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under these circumstances, and with the new Donald Trump administration, Machado\u2019s efforts have focused on keeping hope alive while maintaining her campaign to pressure the United States, above all, to once again pay attention to and support Venezuela\u2019s democratic transition. The political dynamics of Trump\u2019s second administration remain erratic, exemplified by the tug-of-war between two visions of the Venezuelan conflict within the president\u2019s inner circle, represented by his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and his special envoy, Richard Grenell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Grenell has favored maintaining a communication channel with the Maduro regime\u2014which early in Trump\u2019s second term led to the release of six U.S. hostages held in Venezuela\u2014Rubio has represented the hardline faction shaping policy toward Venezuela. One of his first negotiations<\/a> involved the exchange of over 200 Venezuelan citizens deported to El Salvador for ten U.S. citizens held by Maduro\u2019s political regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The oscillation between these two figures, both close to the president and therefore influential over his policy agenda, has continued to generate uncertainty about the United States\u2019 definitive role in Venezuela\u2019s situation, particularly regarding the management of oil licenses. These two perspectives have clashed, as seen in the granting and subsequent revocation of Chevron\u2019s licenses, under pressure from Congress<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this complex scenario, uncertainty has deepened with Trump\u2019s strategic policy shift. The direction taken by Grenell\u2019s talks with Maduro\u2019s inner circle ran counter to the strategy favored by Rubio\u2019s faction. The failure of the negotiations initially launched to secure the release of Venezuelans deported to El Salvador was due to the clashes between Grenell and Rubio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n