Laboratorio de Paz warns that recent political changes in Venezuela do not guarantee a return to democracy and could instead lead to a 'gray zone' or new hybrid regime if deep modifications to power structures do not occur. ^[1] On September 1, 2026, the human rights organization Laboratorio de Paz published a report titled 'Un mes después del 1A: ¿Toda transición conduce a la democracia? La 'zona gris' de Carothers como alerta para pensar el momento venezolano' following a month of discussions on a potential democratic transition in Venezuela. ^[2] The Venezuelan NGO Laboratorio de Paz released a new analysis one month after the start of the announced political transition process in Venezuela. ^[3] Laboratorio de Paz acknowledges recent milestones including the installation of a dialogue table between the Government and a sector of the opposition, agreements to renew the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ), and conversations regarding the National Electoral Council (CNE). ^[4] The organization cites the thesis of US political scientist Thomas Carothers to describe states that abandon classic authoritarianism but fail to consolidate functional democratic institutions, resulting in a 'gray zone'. ^[5] Laboratorio de Paz asserted that Delcy Rodríguez currently exercises power without having been elected president, based on a controversial constitutional interpretation of Maduro's absence, and that her governance does not resolve the democratic legitimacy deficit. ^[6] Laboratorio de Paz claimed that Venezuela changed after January 3, 2026, but the definitive direction of that change is not yet known. ^[7] Laboratorio de Paz warns that exiting authoritarianism does not necessarily imply advancing toward democracy, noting the risk of a country that is more open and plural but has power structures incompatible with full democracy. ^[8]