Read the full essay here.
Maduro’s capture in January 2026 makes Venezuela’s transitional-justice problem urgent: how to secure elite acquiescence without sacrificing truth, accountability, reparation, and non-repetition. Trump’s choice to work with interim leader Delcy Rodríguez over opposition winner María Corina Machado highlights an adverse-selection dilemma—regime insiders may fear Machado is a maximalist who will punish anyone tied to Chavismo. Yet a rushed, blanket amnesty would validate repression and shield perpetrators. Drawing on the cases of Spain, Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Egypt, and Iraq, this essay proposes a differentiated amnesty that sorts actors by crime severity and strategic importance, along four pathways: exile, exceptions, truth, and prosecution.
Image Credit: Lucas Aguayo Araos/Anadolu via Getty Images