Table 1. South America: Heads of Government and Election Schedules

Source: Compiled by the Congressional Research Service (CRS).

Notes: For information on Guyana and Suriname, see Table 3.

a. On January 3, 2026, President Trump announced that U.S. military strikes across Venezuela culminated in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Both were subsequently indicted in the United States. On January 5, 2026, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as interim president. For more information, see CRS Insight IN12618, U.S. Capture of Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro: Considerations for Congress, by Clare Ribando Seelke.

b. After a decade of increasingly authoritarian rule, Venezuela held presidential elections that most international observers, including the U.S. Department of State, concluded did not meet international standards. Venezuela's National Electoral Commission claimed that Nicolás Maduro won 51.2% of the vote, compared with 44.2% for Edmundo González Urrutia. These results contradicted preelection polling, exit polls, and precinct-level vote tabulations published by the opposition. For more information, see CRS In Focus IF10230, Venezuela: Political Crisis and U.S. Policy, by Clare Ribando Seelke.

Table 2. Mexico and Central America: Heads of Government and Election Schedules

Source: Compiled by CRS.

Notes: For information on Belize, see Table 3.

a. Prior to the presidential elections, the Ortega government arrested eight people who sought to challenge Ortega in the elections and dozens of political and civil society leaders. Much of the international community, including the United States, rejected the elections. The Organization of American States declared that the elections "were not free, fair or transparent and have no democratic legitimacy." See U.S. Mission to the Organization of American States, "OAS General Assembly Condemns the Ortega-Murillo Regime in Nicaragua," November 12, 2021, https://usoas.usmission.gov/oas-general-assembly-condemns-the-ortega-murillo-regime-in-nicaragua/. See also CRS Report R48294, Nicaragua: In Brief, by Karla I. Rios.

b. On July 19, 2026, President Ortega said in a speech that there would be no more elections in Nicaragua. On July 28, the president of the National Assembly introduced a constitutional reform bill that seeks to extend the presidential term length from six to seven years, among other reforms. See U.S. Department of State, "A Call to Action: Addressing the Murillo-Ortega Dictatorship's Vow to Abolish Elections," press release, https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/07/a-call-to-action-addressing-the-murillo-ortega-dictatorships-vow-to-abolish-elections/. See also Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, "IACHR Condemns Constitutional Reform Aimed at Institutionalizing Indefinite Rule in Nicaragua," press release, August 3, 2026, https://www.oas.org/en/IACHR/jsForm/?File=/en/iachr/media_center/PReleases/2026/152.asp.

Table 3. Caribbean: Heads of Government and Election Schedules

Source: Compiled by CRS.

Notes: Although Belize is located in Central America and Guyana and Suriname are located in South America, all three are members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

a. Prime Minister Gaston Browne dissolved parliament and called for snap elections in April 2026, ahead of elections constitutionally due by October 2028. The incumbent party won the elections, and the prime minister is serving a second consecutive term. See "Bahamas Re-Elects Progressive Liberal Party's Philip Davis as Prime Minister," Reuters, May 13, 2026, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/13/the-bahamas-reelects-progressive-liberal-party-philip-davis-as-prime-minister.

b. Cuba does not have direct elections for its head of government. Instead, Cuba's legislature selects the members of the 31-member Council of State, with the president of that body serving as Cuba's head of government and head of state. In April 2023, Cuba's legislature selected Miguel Díaz-Canel for another five-year term. Díaz-Canel has served as president of the republic since Cuba's legislature appointed him in October 2019. See Andrea Rodriguez, "Cuba's Parliament Ratifies President Díaz-Canel for New Term," Associated Press, April 19, 2023, https://apnews.com/article/cuba-assembly-president-miguel-diazcanel-7f496a6b05f04aa3d3c7b4a1f3cb45dc.

c. In November 2022, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit called a snap election that was held on December 6, 2022, ahead of elections constitutionally due by March 2025.

d. In May 2022, then-Prime Minister Keith Mitchell called a snap election held on June 23, 2022, ahead of elections constitutionally due in March 2023. The opposition won, and Dickon Mitchell was sworn in as prime minister on June 24, 2022.

e. Haiti's President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated on July 7, 2021. Ariel Henry, named by Moïse but not yet sworn in, became de facto prime minister on July 20, 2021. Under the Haitian Constitution, either the Council of Ministers under the prime minister should govern or, in the last year of a presidential term, the legislature should elect a provisional president. There has been no functioning legislature since January 2020, and there are no remaining elected officials. On March 11, 2024, Henry agreed to resign after a transitional council was formed. On April 12, 2024, the Haitian governmental gazette published a decree establishing a nine-person council, effective until February 7, 2026, tasked with naming a new prime minister and cabinet. Sworn in on April 25, 2024, the transitional council first selected Garry Conille as prime minister and later appointed Alix Didier Fils-Aimé on October 11, 2024. This follows a period of increasing civil unrest in Haiti. On February 7, 2026, the transitional council's mandate expired, and it handed over all executive power to Prime Minister Fils-Aimé. On February 25, 2026, Prime Minister Fils-Aimé presented a governance pact with political parties and other sectors and a week later named a ministerial cabinet comprised of 18 members. See CRS Report R47394, Haiti: Recent Developments and U.S. Policy, by Karla I. Rios and Clare Ribando Seelke. See also CRS Insight IN12331, Haiti in Crisis: Developments Related to the Multinational Security Support Mission, by Karla I. Rios. See also LatinNews Daily, "Haiti: PM Takes over Executive as CPT Dissolves," February 9, 2026, https://www.latinnews.com/component/k2/item/108894.html. See also LatinNews Daily, "Haiti: Fils-Aimé Presents New Ministers," March 5, 2026, https://www.latinnews.com/component/k2/item/109193.html.

f. Haiti held controversial national elections on October 25, 2015. After postponing runoff elections several times, the Provisional Electoral Council announced that new presidential elections would take place in October 2016. These were delayed for a month due to Hurricane Matthew.

g. An April 12, 2024, decree created a transitional council to exercise presidential powers until February 7, 2026, the date by which a new president must be sworn in. The transitional council appointed a provisional electoral commission, a requirement for elections to take place, on September 18, 2024. On July 27, 2026, Haiti's provisional electoral council set a revised date for the first round of elections for December 13, 2026, with February 21, 2027, as the revised run-off election date. See Jacqueline Charles, "Haiti Electoral Council Sets Calendar for First Elections in a Decade. Is It Realistic?," Miami Herald, updated July 24, 2026, https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article316646068.html.