By Luis Manuel Aguana
Address at the extraordinary national meeting of ANCO Coordinators
July 7, 2026
Good afternoon, everyone. I speak to you today as a Venezuelan citizen, voicing a plea that ANCO has joined—a plea that can brook no further delay. I must apologize in advance for beginning my remarks with something I believe people already know, but which past experience has taught me not to take for granted—and which is important to highlight.
Venezuela has endured twenty-seven years of systematic institutional destruction. The regime established in 1999 dismantled the Armed Forces as an institution serving the country, hollowed out the Judiciary, neutralized the Electoral Authority, and transformed the State into a mechanism for the enrichment of a select few. On January 3 of this year, United States forces removed Nicolás Maduro Moros from Venezuela. While welcomed by millions of Venezuelans, that event did not signal the fall of the regime; it was merely a blow to its visible head. His successor, Delcy Rodríguez, represents not a break with that past, but its continuation. Furthermore, her legitimacy—already fragile given that she succeeded a president never recognized as such—formally expired on July 2, upon the conclusion of the ninety-day constitutional extension granted by the 1999 Constitution itself for the calling of elections. Since then, strictly speaking, Venezuela has lacked a constitutional government.
This is not a vacuum without historical precedent. When a foreign power like the US intervenes and displaces a regime, the path back to the rule of law has followed a recognizable route in other countries: in 1945 Japan, the Allies governed through intermediaries until a new Constitution was drafted and full sovereignty restored. In 2003 Iraq, the UN Security Council recognized the occupation; within just two years, power was transferred to a provisional government, a Constituent Assembly was convened, and legitimate authorities were elected. Today, Venezuela possesses neither the institutional Armed Forces that Japan had, nor the United Nations backing that Iraq enjoyed. What we have is a Praetorian force devoid of values and a political class—spanning both the ruling party and the opposition—incapable of governing the State. That is why we insist: a unique formula is needed, one adapted to our reality, and it is needed now.
I say "now" because,
on June 24, 2026, Venezuela suffered the greatest seismic tragedy of its recent
history. Two earthquakes—measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude—shook the country;
in a matter of seconds, La Guaira, Caracas, and other cities saw entire
buildings collapse—many with families inside—on a public holiday. Official
figures already acknowledge several thousand deaths and over eleven thousand
injuries, yet many of us know from firsthand experience that, given the
regime's historical lack of transparency regarding information, the true toll
will undoubtedly be considerably higher. The country’s main airport was
paralyzed. And during the most critical hours—those that determine life or
death for those trapped beneath the rubble—the nation confirmed something it
already knew: there was no State to respond.
Hospitals lacked both equipment and budgets. Fire departments and civil protection agencies—dismantled over the years—were unable to deploy. The National Armed Forces—the very same force that spent twenty-seven years persecuting Venezuelans—were practically absent during the critical opening hours when every minute counted. When they finally did appear, it was only to obstruct relief efforts and exploit the aid for political gain. Furthermore, the very authorities responsible for coordinating aid to the public are, in large part, the same officials internationally condemned for repression and corruption.
Thousands of families searched for their loved ones in the rubble with their own bare hands, while regime officials merely toured the devastated areas without providing any effective assistance. That image—one of utter abandonment—has finally convinced millions of Venezuelans that this interim government (now more unconstitutional than ever) cannot and must not remain in charge of the country for a single minute longer. We must turn this sentiment into a national and international outcry loud enough for every nation to hear.
We cannot allow the humanitarian aid currently arriving generously from dozens of countries—led by the United States with its rescue teams and assistance—to end up, as has happened previously with medicines sent to our hospitals, in the hands of those who have made looting their method of governance. That would mean adding a second tragedy to the first.
For all these reasons, ANCO has formally addressed President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In their capacity as guardians of the Venezuelan political process, we urgently request that they proceed with the definitive removal of the regime and the installation of a Transitional Governing Board in Venezuela, led by Dr. Blanca Rosa Mármol de León, Justice Emeritus of the Supreme Court of Justice. Her track record of independence, integrity, and democratic commitment sets her apart in a country where such qualities are in short supply among those who have held power.
We are not talking about political calculations or partisan power-sharing. We are talking about entrusting the leadership of the country, in its most difficult hour, to someone in whom Venezuelans—beyond their differences—can recognize moral authority. I do not believe there is another person in Venezuela with greater recognition, moral prestige, and empathy in this diminished and difficult time for the country. I ask for your help and collaboration in distributing our petition so that every Venezuelan with a cell phone can sign it (you can sign it in the Public Letter to the President of the United States, Trump, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in https://www.gopetition.com/petitions/carta-pública-al-presidente-de-los-eeeuu-donald-trump-y-al-secretario-de-estado-marco-rubio.html).
Furthermore, this Board must be composed of other Venezuelans of recognized moral integrity and technical competence—individuals free from partisan or economic interests who are willing to unequivocally commit to not participating in the very electoral process they are to convene. It must possess the necessary powers to address the humanitarian emergency without political interference, restore the constitutional order broken since July 2, and lead the country toward an original constituent process and toward free, transparent, and verifiable elections—featuring a renewed electoral system that guarantees manual voting and the franchise for Venezuelans living abroad.
Ultimately, this is the only way to fully exercise the principle enshrined in Article 5 of our Constitution: that sovereignty resides inalienably in the people. We Venezuelans must exert the utmost civic pressure in every corner of the country—using constitutionally established channels of expression—to make this proposal a reality in the eyes of the United States.
I am aware that this request entails a difficult decision for the United States government, which has thus far opted to support a negotiated transition through the regime's remaining structures. Yet that path—conceived prior to June 24—no longer aligns with the reality in Venezuela. Attempting to resolve an emergency of this magnitude through dialogue with deeply delegitimized entities—bodies incapable even of recovering their dead from the rubble—would only prolong the suffering of the Venezuelan people and jeopardize the very success of the policy the U.S. has championed.
This is not the self-serving plea of just any civil society group. It is a demand from a group like ours at ANCO—one possessing the requisite ethical and moral authority to make such a call, a quality few in today's Venezuela can claim. Yet it is also the outcry of a nation that has mourned its dead while no one came to their rescue in time; a nation that today demands that the reconstruction of what nature and the regime destroyed no longer remain—not for a single day more—in the very hands that have spent nearly thirty years tearing it down. Venezuela urgently needs firm, honest, and competent leadership—leadership capable of ensuring that international aid truly reaches those who need it, paving the way to freedom, and finally restoring the sovereignty that our founders won for us 215 years ago. And I believe that you, as members and coordinators of ANCO at the national level, are the best messengers and champions of that demand.
Thank you very much…
Caracas, July 8, 2026
Blog: TIC’s & Derechos Humanos, https://ticsddhh.blogspot.com/
Email: luismanuel.aguana@gmail.com
Twitter:@laguana
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