US Urges Venezuela to Follow Phased Plan for Democratic Transition

Photo: AFP via Gulf News

Washington has told Venezuela to stay on its phased path to democracy, not rush to elections. Secretary of State Marco Rubio set out the message in a meeting with Venezuela's new foreign minister, Oliver Blanco, in Washington on Monday.

The meeting was Blanco's first visit to the United States since interim President Delcy Rodriguez named him to the post last week. Rodriguez has led Venezuela since American forces removed Nicolas Maduro from Caracas in January and brought him to the US to face drug trafficking and other charges.

Al Jazeera reported that the State Department said Rubio reaffirmed President Donald Trump's three phase plan for Venezuela: stabilisation, economic recovery and political reconciliation, and then democratic transition. Neither man spoke to the media after the meeting.

The Straits Times, carrying the AFP report, said Rubio also urged Caracas to keep freeing the political prisoners still held from Maduro's rule. The most recent count from the group Foro Penal put the number at 344 as of 18 September.

The two sides also talked about reconciliation talks led by Venezuelans themselves, and reforms meant to lay the ground for votes that are free, fair and credible. Blanco later met Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as well, to discuss the same three phase approach.

The meeting comes as opposition leader Maria Corina Machado returned to Venezuela last week. The Nobel Peace Prize winner thanked Trump and Rubio for their support and said she had come home to organise a movement ahead of elections. She said Rubio had set out a sequence pointing to presidential elections in 2027.

Machado also sounded a note of caution about the oil deal Washington struck with Caracas in September. Under that deal, a company called North American Blue Energy Partners gets 100 year rights over 17 oilfields, the Pentagon takes a 35 percent stake in the firm, and the US gets the right to buy 20 percent of its oil output at cost. Machado said the agreement did not reflect the levels of transparency Venezuelan society wants.

Rodriguez, for her part, has promised elections will be held with the world as witness, but has not named a date. Asked about a possible meeting with Rodriguez, Machado said she had received no message from the interim president or from Washington. The Venezuela plan is unfolding as Americans vote in midterms that have already produced a Supreme Court fight over 20,000 California ballots and a poll showing Trump's approval near a record low.

What this means in plain terms is that Washington wants order first and votes second. Stabilise the country, revive the economy, settle scores through reconciliation, and only then hold the election. For Venezuelans waiting for a vote, the message is patience, with 2027 as the marker Machado herself has named.

The key points at a glance:

• Rubio reaffirmed Trump's three phase plan: stabilisation, recovery and reconciliation, then democratic transition
• He urged the continued release of remaining political prisoners, counted at 344 in September
• Machado, back in Venezuela, points to presidential elections in 2027
• Rodriguez has promised elections but named no date

Sources

• Al Jazeera: US urges Venezuela to follow phased plan for democratic transition
• The Straits Times (AFP): Rubio meets new Venezuelan FM, urges release of political prisoners
• Gulf News: Rubio meets Venezuelan FM Blanco, calls for release of political prisoners

Watch for the next prisoner releases and for any date Rodriguez sets for the vote.

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