Venezuelan opposition leaders María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia said on Wednesday that 2026 will be the year of the "consolidation of freedom" for their country. They reaffirmed their commitment to the "struggle" they have maintained since denouncing fraud in the 2024 presidential election, when Nicolás Maduro was proclaimed re-elected president. "2026 will be the year of the consolidation of the Freedom of our nation. Our year-end message to all Venezuelans," wrote the also 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate in a message on X, which she accompanied with a video in which González Urrutia appears, claiming to be the "elected president" in the past elections. The opposition leader highlighted in the video that in the fight "every day" "new challenges and difficulties" appear, but that in this 2025 "decisive steps" have been taken and "enormous achievements" have been achieved that allow them to be "close to achieving what we have always dreamed of." In turn, González Urrutia pointed out that "Venezuela has a possible, realistic, and democratic path" that "demands order, constancy, and collective commitment." "The future of Venezuela is not up for discussion. The decision was already made by the people, and when a nation decides to move forward, there is no turning back, no matter how tough or unexpected the obstacles are, we move forward."
