Clara Vegas Goetz is Crowned Miss Venezuela Amid Tensions with the US
Clara Vegas Goetz, the candidate from Miranda state, will represent Venezuela in the Miss Universe pageant in 2026.
Caracas, Venezuela: Venezuela chose its beauty queen on Thursday in a night filled with lights, music and many sequins that some in the audience saw as a respite from the tension over the United States military deployment in the Caribbean. Clara Vegas Goetz, the candidate from the state of Miranda, will represent Venezuela in the Miss Universe pageant in 2026. She succeeds Stephany Abasali, who finished as second runner-up in this international competition two weeks ago. One of Venezuela’s most traditional pageants, Miss Venezuela, was held for the third consecutive year on the terrace of a shopping center in Caracas, far from the luxury of the grand stages of the past in this country in crisis. Many in the audience came in long sequined dresses and high heels, or tuxedos.
A firecracker suddenly went off in the distance. “Oh no, we’ve been invaded!” joked a woman. It’s a recurring joke ever since the United States deployed the world’s largest aircraft carrier to the Caribbean, along with warships, fighter jets, and thousands of soldiers. Washington maintains that the deployment is part of anti-drug trafficking operations, although President Nicolás Maduro insists that the objective is to overthrow him and seize the country’s wealth. Jorge Guillén and Jean Piero Torrealba, makeup artists aged 52 and 45, religiously attend Miss Venezuela. From the concrete stands, they applauded, commented, and made their predictions.
“This takes you out of that reality,” Torrealba told AFP, without directly referring to the crisis with the United States. It’s a sensitive issue in Venezuela. “In Venezuela, Miss Venezuela comes first, then baseball, and third football,” said Oswan Vegas, a 23-year-old student. The swimsuit parade celebrated “Venezuelan identity,” according to the presenter. And in Abasali’s final parade, there was music dedicated to Venezuela, traditional costumes, and many flags. Vegas Goetz is the daughter of Andreína Goetz, Miss Venezuela 1990, and was among the favorites. “We Venezuelans work for the future,” he said in English to make up for an awkward response in Spanish. “We work for a brighter future with Love, peace, and happiness.” Miss Venezuela has had to reinvent itself after the economic difficulties of this Caribbean country and a serious sex exploitation scandal.
Miss Venezuela was held for the third consecutive year on the terrace of a shopping center in Caracas, far from the luxury of the grand stages of the past in this country in crisis. Vegas Goetz is the daughter of Andreína Goetz, Miss Venezuela 1990, and was among the favorites.
