Until about two weeks ago, Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro looked like he’d managed to sideline the opposition enough to ensure a win in this summer’s presidential election.
His government had disqualified the leading opposition candidate, María Corina Machado. Then, for good measure, it banned her stand-in as well. The familiar specter of division and disorganization hung over the beleaguered opponents of Maduro, who has run Venezuela for more than a decade.
Then the opposition united to name the little-known, 74-year-old former diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia as their candidate. González has delegated most of his campaigning to Machado, and his popularity has soared. A poll over the weekend showed he already holds a 40-point lead over Maduro, with 62% of respondents saying they’d vote for him.
The government has already recognized him as a candidate, tarring him as an agent of “imperialism” – but that presents a problem. By moving against him, Maduro could overplay his hand in a country already reeling from economic mismanagement and US sanctions. But facing Gonzalez directly might leave Maduro vulnerable to the one thing a strongman can’t accept: losing.
For many in Iran, it’s a waiting game for how long Ayatollah Khamenei has left to live.
In a 30-minute call on Thursday, President Donald Trump reportedly told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky he wants to end the war with Russia as soon as possible — aiming for a deal by summer, but ideally within weeks.
Former British ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson leaves his residence after he was released following his arrest by London police on Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office, following the release of U.S. Justice Department files linked to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in London, Britain, February 26, 2026.
The ghost of Jeffrey Epstein continues to haunt the world.
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