Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodríguez told the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday that the country will hold elections, without specifying when, saying the Venezuelan people would determine "the right moment" — marking the first address by a Venezuelan head of state to the body's plenary since Nicolás Maduro appeared there in 2018. Rodríguez, who took office on 5 January after Maduro was seized in a US military operation in Caracas and now faces trial in the United States on drug trafficking charges, also thanked President Donald Trump for his willingness to restore diplomatic ties and praised a deal granting Washington access to roughly a quarter of Venezuela's proven oil reserves. Meanwhile, the circle around opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado reported that seven attempts to return to Venezuela from Panama have now failed, with three unsuccessful bids by sea and air in a single 24-hour period, raising sharp questions about whether she will be permitted to participate in any future vote.