Thousands of Venezuelans have taken to the streets in the first nationwide opposition protest in nearly two years, as demonstrators demanded free elections and other political changes with a notably thin presence of security forces.
The United States has been working closely with the interim government led by acting President Delcy Rodriguez since US forces captured president Nicolas Maduro in January.
Both US President Donald Trump and Rodriguez, Maduro's former deputy, have said there will be elections, but have not set a date either for a legislative vote or a national contest for president.
Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, who has been outside the country for nearly a year after living in hiding following a contested 2024 election, has said elections must take place by July 2027.
Her Vente Venezuela movement organised Thursday's protests, which took place in the capital Caracas and other cities, including Valencia, Maracay, San Cristobal and Maracaibo.
Venezuela's socialist movement, in power since 1999 under late president Hugo Chavez and then Maduro, has in the past deployed security forces against protesters decrying political repression, dizzying inflation, poor public services and other problems in the economically battered country, including after the 2024 presidential election.
Security forces had minimal presence at protest sites on Thursday, and in many smaller cities demonstrators dispersed before dark.
US-backed talks between a faction of the opposition and the interim government, aimed at remaking the top court and the electoral council with an eye towards ensuring fairness at eventual elections, held their latest session in October, but changes could take significant time.
The negotiations do not include Machado's political movement, though she has said she will not stand in the way of their progress.
Machado's proxy roundly won the 2024 election, according to vote tallies released by the opposition.
But the government, which never released full counts, backed Maduro, as did the country's legal and electoral institutions.
Amid the arrests of some of her closest collaborators, Machado went into hiding.
Her last public appearance in Venezuela was at protests to mark Maduro's third inauguration in January 2025, where she was briefly detained.
Machado has for years sought US support, aligning with hawks in the Trump team who argued that Maduro - through links to drug gangs - represented a direct threat to US national security.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are facing drug and torture charges in the US. They have pleaded not guilty.
But Trump has repeatedly praised Rodriguez's management and her willingness to welcome US investors, saying in September it is too soon to consider elections.
Machado's desire to return home, especially after devastating twin earthquakes in June, has caused friction in Washington, with US officials asking her to delay her trip.