Who holds Venezuela’s presidency on December 31, 2026 will control the executive branch, security forces, and access to oil revenue.

That control determines recognition by other states, management of frozen assets, and whether the country follows a path of repression, negotiated transition, or parallel claims to power.

Nicolás Maduro, Delcy Rodríguez, Diosdado Cabello, Jorge Rodríguez, and Vladimir Padrino López are the primary ruling-party and military figures who can secure or lose state control.

María Corina Machado, Juan Guaidó, Dinorah Figuera and other opposition leaders contest power. The list also names foreign or U.S.-linked figures—Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, Richard Grenell, Pete Hegseth, Stephen Miller, Evan Pettus, Dan Caine, Frank Donovan, and Miguel Rodríguez Torres.

Military loyalty, splits inside the PSUV, and control of key institutions determine who can occupy the presidency in practice.

International recognition, sanctions or relief, oil revenues, arrests, defections, contested elections, and court rulings are the concrete levers that shift who is able to govern.

Watch scheduled electoral steps, any Supreme Court or electoral council rulings on eligibility, and high-profile arrests or military reshuffles before year‑end 2026.

Also track diplomatic recognition shifts by the U.S., regional neighbors, Russia, and the EU; changes to sanctions or oil exports; large protests; and opposition unity or fragmentation.