Venezuelan politician Enrique Márquez, released from prison earlier this month after challenging the results of Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election, urged political rivals on Friday to work together for the country’s recovery, calling for an end to what he described as a relentless cycle of conflict. Speaking at a news conference at which he said he wanted to help “build the future,” Márquez called on the opposition and the ruling party to take advantage of the circumstances created by Nicolás Maduro’s ouster.
Márquez’s comments included a blunt appeal for rivals to stop competing for status and instead focus on governance, telling reporters: “We have been killing each other in a relentless political war,” and warning that “If we don’t break the rearview mirror and look ahead, we won’t find our way.” He added, “lock up egos in a drawer,” as he spoke in what at times appeared to set the tone for a political campaign.
The release follows a sequence of developments that changed Venezuela’s leadership structure and reshaped the environment surrounding detention of political opponents. Márquez appeared earlier this week during U.S. President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, according to the AP report, and his prison release came days after the U.S. military captured Maduro in Venezuela’s capital and took him to New York to face drug trafficking charges.
In Venezuela, Márquez had challenged the 2024 election results that the ruling party-loyal National Electoral Council declared would keep Maduro in office, despite what the AP report described as “ample credible evidence” that Maduro lost to opposition candidate Edmundo González. Márquez said he was detained in January 2025 after he pressed the country’s high court to nullify the results presented by the council.
Once detained, Márquez told reporters that he spent his first seven days in custody handcuffed and was interrogated around the clock. He said he remained incommunicado for 10 months, including three months when he was kept from getting sunlight. Authorities held him on charges including terrorism, hatred and treason, and Márquez said he never faced trial for those charges, later receiving amnesty.
Márquez’s release came after acting President Delcy Rodríguez signed into law a measure allowing amnesty, the AP report said. Rodríguez was sworn in as interim president after Maduro was captured on Jan. 3, according to the report, and Márquez lauded her decision to push for both an amnesty law and an overhaul of Venezuela’s oil industry since assuming her new role.
At the news conference, Márquez also addressed his relationship with opposition leadership after regaining freedom, acknowledging that he has not spoken with María Corina Machado since he was released. He sidestepped questions about whether he would run for president again but said he does not see an election taking place soon.
He said he intends to serve as a bridge between political camps, describing his role as “a builder,” adding: “My intention is to become a unifying force,” and, “The role I want to play, and hope to be able to play, is that of a builder, helping to build the future.”