The indictment of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores by the US on Saturday has raised questions of who could succeed his decade-long reign as president.
Apart from 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner and activist Maria Corina Machado, the answer is also likely to be 75-year-old Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who was once poised to be president.
Maduro's capture and indictment comes after the Donald Trump administration carried out airstrikes overnight into Saturday morning, which rocked many parts of the country, including Caracas, its capital.
Trump:
— Clash Report (@clashreport) January 3, 2026
His house had steel doors and a safety space with solid steel all around. He tried to get into it, but was bum-rushed so fast he didn’t make it.
We were prepared with massive blowtorches to get through the steel, but we didn’t need them. pic.twitter.com/Jov7gYyX3t
During the chaos, Maduro and his wife were captured by the US Delta Force, and were then flown into the US to be tried.
Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York. Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess…
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) January 3, 2026
"Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States," said US Attorney General Pamela Bondi in an X post.
Why is Gonzalez a possible successor to Maduro?
Edmundo Gonzalez had been a part of the opposition candidacy that had reportedly won the presidential elections held on July 28, 2024.
Notably, the career diplomat and political analyst—often described as a centrist—had not been the original pick to lead the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), Venezuela's opposition coalition, as per a Buenos Aires Herald report.
However, he rose to the position after both right-wing politician and presidential hopeful Machado and her replacement, Corina Yoris, were both banned from participating in the elections.
Yet, four days after the July 2024 elections, the National Electoral Council (CNE), said to be backed by the ruling party, declared Maduro as the winner, claiming that he had 51.2 per cent of the vote, as compared to 44.2 per cent for Gonzalez, as per an El Pais report.
However, the opposition's voter tallies showed a different picture—that Gonzalez had won 67 per cent of the vote, while Maduro had only garnered 30 per cent.
This discrepancy—followed by a number of countries, including the US—recognising Gonzalez as the winner, led to political pressure on the career diplomat, who had risen to the ranks from his experience as an ambassador to Argentina under Hugo Chavez’s first presidency (1998-2002).
Gonzalez was forced to take refuge in two embassies in Caracas—first that of the Netherlands, and then Spain.
He was then forced to leave the country altogether, and escaped to Madrid, from where he has continued to advocate that Venezuela uphold the results of the 2024 polls.
