Venezuela’s acting leader promises new elections

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Delcy Rodriguez said the timing of the election would be decided by the Venezuelan people, adding that her government has started a “political dialogue with opposition sectors” to secure a “process based on equal conditions for all.”

Ms Rodriguez said the country’s institutions “will be prepared to guarantee an inclusive and transparent process.”

The acting president took over in Venezuela after a deadly attack by the US in January during which 100 people were killed, and President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Celia Flores were kidnapped and detained in New York to face allegations of drug trafficking.

Ms Rodriguez failed to mention either of her compatriots in her speech, and there have been no plans announced for her to travel the few miles to visit them in detention.

But Ms Rodriguez was fulsome in her praise of US President Donald Trump for entering into “co-operation with Venezuela.”

She said: “We are working earnestly to resolve existing differences through dialogue, but above all to pave the way for co-operation in the energy sector, the promotion of security, the joint fight against transnational crime, and economic co-operation for the benefit of both peoples and our continent.