Venezuela faces a stark choice between democratic reform and renewed instability, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday as Washington pressed the country’s interim authorities to move swiftly toward elections.
Speaking by teleconference, Rubio said the United States expects Venezuela to establish new electoral and judicial institutions before voting can take place.
He warned that Washington would not allow the process to be delayed indefinitely, saying agreed timelines had been met so far. “We’re not going to get — no one’s going to wait us out here,” Rubio said.
Rubio described the U.S.-backed transition as Venezuela’s best chance to build a functioning democracy, revive its economy and encourage millions of citizens who fled the country to return.
The alternative, he said, could be renewed authoritarian rule, violence or civil conflict.
The secretary also said the United States had urged interim authorities to reduce foreign influence, dismantle criminal networks and advance political reforms.
While acknowledging that interim leader Delcy Rodríguez has not publicly endorsed the US operation in Venezuela, Rubio said Washington was judging her government by its actions rather than its rhetoric.
“So far, frankly, on everything we’ve asked for in this process … it’s happening,” he said.
Rubio also addressed the return of opposition leader María Corina Machado, saying Washington had told Venezuela’s interim authorities that she should be allowed to return safely.
He denied that the United States had directly facilitated her journey, saying officials had communicated that she could enter the country without interference.
On Venezuela’s oil industry, Rubio defended a strategic agreement involving a major private energy company, arguing that the deal would attract investment, increase production and give the United States access to Venezuelan crude during a future crisis.
He said the arrangement would not involve direct U.S. taxpayer funding.
Rubio rejected reports that Venezuelan officials had been offered immunity from prosecution in exchange for cooperating with the transition.
Instead, he said, the country had two options: pursue reconciliation, institutional reform and legitimate elections, or risk returning to decades of economic and political turmoil. “This process has to work,” Rubio said.
