−87%State TV mentions Diosdado Cabello 87% less than its yearly average · As Delcy Rodríguez softens her tone at the UN, state television has nearly stopped mentioning Diosdado Cabello this week.
−38%El Radar del Discurso: 'elections' falls on state TV despite Rodríguez's promise · State-aligned channels mention the word 'elections' 38% less than their January-to-July 2026 average.
+140%Mentions of María Corina Machado surge on opposition channels · The opposition mentions her 140% more than its January-to-July 2026 average, amid her return attempts.
Addressing the U.N. General Assembly, acting president Delcy Rodríguez said "there will be elections in Venezuela," without giving a date, and thanked Donald Trump for Washington's willingness to resume economic and energy cooperation, according to Al Jazeera. Her 18-minute speech never mentioned Nicolás Maduro or Cilia Flores, both held in New York.
Opposition commentators David Placeres and César Miguel Rondón questioned the shift, saying Trump has "plugged in" Rodríguez and that his own government is quietly blocking María Corina Machado's return. Trump told Rodríguez "you have to have elections," according to Voz.us, also without a deadline.
«Elections cannot be the start of a conflict. Elections are the solution to conflict, one of the mechanisms, not the only one. With sanctions, there are no elections.»— Delcy Rodríguez, September 25, 2026 · watch
«You have to have elections at the end of the day.»— Donald Trump, September 23, 2026 · watch
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Manhattan federal prosecutors filed a brief on September 23 opposing Cilia Flores's request for house arrest while she awaits trial, arguing she poses an extreme flight risk, according to De Último Minuto. Judge Alvin Hellerstein set the hearing for October 8.
Journalist Carla Angola noted that the same prosecutors' office, which answers to the Trump administration, maintains Flores deserves life in prison, even as it treats her case separately from her husband Maduro's. Their joint trial remains set for June 1, 2027.
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María Corina Machado is weighing a public return accompanied by international figures, after at least three failed attempts to fly out of Panama in 24 hours, according to El Espectador. Her team said: "She has been prevented from flying out of Panama. She remains there, unable to leave."
In the U.S. Congress, senators from both parties plan to summon State Department officials over the election calendar and Machado's return, according to David Placeres. Jorge Rodríguez, of the National Assembly, said: "Make no mistake, we are working hard toward a process of encounter."
«She has been prevented from flying out of Panama. She remains there, unable to leave.»— María Corina Machado's team, September 22, 2026 · watch
«Make no mistake, we are working hard toward a process of encounter.»— Jorge Rodríguez, September 26, 2026 · watch
