U.S. Urges Staged Political Transition in Venezuela Ahead of 2027 Elections

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado’s return to Venezuela coincides with renewed scrutiny of U.S. policy under the Trump administration.

The United States has called on Venezuela to advance a staged process of economic recovery and political reconciliation before holding democratic elections.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the incremental framework during talks in Venezuela with Foreign Minister Oliver Blanco. The meeting occurred nearly one year after U.S. authorities detained former President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas and transferred him to the United States to face drug-trafficking and related charges.

Neither Rubio nor Blanco addressed reporters following the meeting. However, a State Department readout confirmed that Washington continues to support President Donald Trump’s three-phase plan for Venezuela: stabilization, economic recovery and political reconciliation, followed by democratic transition.

Last week, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado returned to Venezuela and thanked President Trump and Rubio for their backing. Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who presented her medal to Trump in 2025, said she had come to organize a movement ahead of Venezuelan elections.

Rubio has outlined a sequence of steps intended to lead to a democratic transition, including presidential elections in 2027, she said.

Machado is navigating her campaign amid a Trump administration that has pursued oil agreements with the government of interim President Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro’s former vice president, who assumed office after his detention.

In September, the Trump administration announced an agreement granting the United States a stake in approximately one-fifth of Venezuela’s oil resources.

Under the arrangement, the U.S. is forming a joint venture with North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), a firm owned by Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt and the country’s second-largest private oil operator after Chevron.

Caracas is granting NABEP 100-year rights to 17 oilfields holding proven reserves of 65 billion barrels. The Pentagon will hold a 35 percent interest in NABEP, and the United States will retain the right to purchase 20 percent of output at cost, according to the Trump administration.

Shortly before Machado’s Thursday remarks, Rodriguez told the nation that elections would take place “with the world as witness,” though she offered no specific date.

Asked about a possible meeting with Rodriguez, Machado said she had not received any communication from the interim president or from Washington.

Following her return to Venezuela, Machado expressed skepticism about the U.S. oil accord.

“This agreement does not meet the transparency standards Venezuelan society demands,” Machado said.

Source link