Venezuela’s political crisis deepens as experts demand free elections and the US detains Maduro

Retired colonel and constitutional‑law professor Ángel Alberto Bellorín argues that Venezuela’s institutional collapse can only be remedied by holding new, free and verifiable elections. He cites the Constitution’s articles 5, 6 and 138, asserting that “the office of President… is and will be the product of elections” and condemns the events of 28 July 2024 as a “grotesque offense” that nullified sovereign authority.

According to another account, former President Nicolás Maduro was captured on 3 January 2026 and transferred to the United States to face charges of organized crime and narcotrafficking. The move is presented as aligned with the popular will expressed in the 2024 elections and described as the first phase of a three‑stage U.S.–backed program intended to end the “protectionist” regime and restore democratic governance in Venezuela.