# Venezuela's acting leader vows elections at the right moment

> Delcy Rodríguez, who took power after a U.S. military raid captured her predecessor, promises Venezuela will hold elections when the time is right.
- Title: Venezuela's acting leader vows elections at the right moment
- Summary: Delcy Rodríguez, who took power after a U.S. military raid captured her predecessor, promises Venezuela will hold elections when the time is right…
- Keywords: delcy rodríguez, venezuela, elections, nicolás maduro, united nations general assembly, donald trump, u.s. military raid, venezuela oil deal, news, Venezuela's, acting, leader
- Source: NPR — https://npr.org/2026/09/24/g-s1-144837/venezuela-leader-un-general-assembly
- Published: 2026-09-24T00:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: delcy rodríguez, venezuela, elections, nicolás maduro, united nations general assembly, donald trump, u.s. military raid, venezuela oil deal, news
## Acting president promises elections
Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela's acting president, told the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday that elections will be held in Venezuela at the right moment determined by the people.

> Elections will be held in Venezuela
## Political dialogue with opposition
Rodríguez said her government has started political dialogue with opposition sectors to secure a process based on equal conditions for all Venezuelans.

> political dialogue with opposition sectors
## How Rodríguez came to power
Rodríguez took over as acting president after a U.S. military raid in January captured then-leader Nicolás Maduro and brought him to the United States to face drug trafficking charges.
## First Venezuelan leader at U.N. since 2018
This is the first trip to the United States by a Venezuelan head of state since two thousand eighteen, when Maduro traveled to New York for the U.N. General Assembly himself.
## Venezuela recovering from earthquakes
On June twenty-fourth, two powerful earthquakes with magnitudes seven point two and seven point five struck north-central Venezuela and killed more than six thousand five hundred people.
## Trump and Rodríguez meet in New York
Before her U.N. speech on Wednesday night, Trump and Rodríguez met at a pull-aside meeting late Tuesday during a reception the U.S. president hosted at a New York hotel.
## Oil deal and bilateral cooperation
The two countries announced an agreement last month to give the United States a stake in Venezuela's vast oil reserves. Rodríguez described the deal as a step toward economic recovery.
## Rodríguez vows to lead toward democracy
Rodríguez vowed to shoulder the historic responsibility of leading Venezuela from a period of uncertainty and conflict toward a stage of full democracy recognized by its own people and the world.

> from a period of uncertainty and conflict toward a stage of full democracy
## Key takeaway

Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodríguez promised elections at an unspecified time and said her government is in political dialogue with opposition sectors to ensure fair conditions.