Following the capture of Nicolás Maduro by US special forces, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group stresses that the former regime had no democratic legitimacy. The ECR Group recalls that the 2024 election, in which Edmundo González Urrutia was elected president, was stolen by Maduro’s narco-communist regime. Despite this manipulation, the vote clearly revealed the Venezuelan people’s will for democratic change, political freedom and constitutional government.

Against this background, the capture of Maduro can open a decisive window for a orderly democratic transition, allowing Venezuelans themselves to determine their political future through democratic means and to restore constitutional order in the country.

ECR Co-Chairman Nicola Procaccini said: “Maduro‘s regime systematically dismantled democracy, crushed political opposition and deprived millions of Venezuelans of freedom and dignity. This moment must lead to an orderly democratic transition, restoring constitutional order and respect for the clear will of the Venezuelan people.”

ECR Co-Chairman Patryk Jaki said: “The capture of Maduro marks a turning point after years of dictatorship, repression and electoral fraud. I fully support President Trump’s decisive action, which creates a real opportunity for Venezuela to finally return to democracy and constitutional order.”

ECR MEP and Vice-Chair of the Euro-Latin Parliamentary Assembly Carlo Fidanza said: “It is striking to hear calls for international law from the red-green left, alongside Russia, Iran and Cuba, after years of silence on a criminal system that tortured opponents, rigged elections and starved its own people.”

Edmundo González Urrutia was nominated by the ECR Group and awarded the 2024 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament, in recognition of his courage and commitment to democracy alongside the Venezuelan democratic opposition. For the ECR Group, this recognition underlined the legitimacy of the democratic forces and the Venezuelan people’s clear aspiration for freedom and democracy.

The ECR Group reiterates its firm support for Venezuela’s democratic opposition and for a peaceful transition driven by the Venezuelan people themselves. It calls on all remaining elements of the former regime to lay down their arms and allow a democratic process so that Venezuela can finally reclaim freedom, democracy and national sovereignty.