Rubio Meets Venezuelan Minister to Discuss Election Reforms
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) meets with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Oliver Blanco (L) at the State Department in Washington on Nov. 2, 2026. Eric Lee/Reuters
Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Venezuelan Foreign Minister Oliver Blanco in Washington on Monday to discuss reforms in the South American country, in readiness to hold free and fair elections.
In a statement, the U.S. State Department said Rubio reaffirmed President Donald Trump’s plan for Venezuela, which is “stabilization, economic recovery and political reconciliation, and democratic transition.”
“The two discussed progress in the Venezuelan-led reconciliation talks, including institutional reforms that lay the groundwork for free, fair, and credible elections,” the statement said.
Rubio also urged Blanco to continue to release the remaining political prisoners in Venezuela.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado—who returned to the country on Oct. 25—said last week that Rubio had suggested presidential elections would be held in 2027.
Rubio told reporters on Oct. 25 that Venezuela’s electoral infrastructure had to be replaced before the country could hold a valid, fair election.
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He said the current infrastructure “was designed by the Maduro regime to rig elections.”
“So, that infrastructure has to be replaced in order for these elections to be valid,” Rubio said last week.
“How can you have a legitimate election in Venezuela when you have a supreme court that is fully politicized and is going to rule that anything the regime wants is legal and allowed to do?” Rubio said.
Blanco Meets Bessent
Blanco, who was appointed foreign minister last week by Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodríguez, also met Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during his visit to Washington.
“Secretary Bessent underscored the Trump administration’s commitment to supporting Venezuela’s economic recovery and revitalizing its critical sectors, including boosting energy production and reconnecting the Venezuelan financial sector, with the goals of restoring confidence, attracting investment, and laying the groundwork for a more prosperous Venezuela,” the Treasury said in a statement.
U.S. special forces ousted Venezuela’s former leader, Nicolás Maduro, in January and took him to New York to face trial on federal narco-terrorism charges.
Rodríguez took over, and Trump has repeatedly praised her cooperation with the United States in the past 10 months.
He met her in New York for the first time on Sept. 22, and the following day, Rodríguez gave a speech to the U.N. General Assembly, during which she said Venezuela would transition to “a full democracy.”
Venezuela’s Interim President Delcy Rodriguez and U.S. President Donald Trump (R) meet on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Sept. 22, 2026. Venezuela Presidential Palace Handout via Reuters
Machado, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2025, was prevented from challenging Maduro for the presidency in the 2024 election.
She had been barred from public office for 15 years by Venezuela’s controller general in 2023, a decision that was widely seen as having been fixed by the Maduro regime.
Edmundo González, who replaced her as the opposition candidate, won the July 2024 election by a wide margin before the Venezuelan National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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