Marco Rubio said Venezuela’s return to free elections is a work in progress and the transition will take months, not years [1].
This timeline establishes a critical window for the United States and international partners to stabilize the region. Because the transition follows the removal of Nicolás Maduro, the speed of the rebuilding process will determine whether the country avoids a power vacuum or a return to instability.
Rubio, identified as Secretary of State in a Newsweek interview and as a U.S. Senator in other reports, said that the capture of Maduro was not the end of the process. Instead, he said it was the beginning of a rebuilding effort after more than 25 years of authoritarian rule [2].
According to Rubio, the United States believes that the country requires a specific sequence of events before voters return to the polls. He said that recovery and reconciliation must come before elections in Venezuela [3]. This approach suggests that the U.S. is prioritizing the establishment of a functional administrative framework over an immediate vote.
The transition is intended to address the systemic damage caused by approximately 25 years of authoritarian governance [2]. Rubio said that the process remains a work in progress and is expected to take months rather than years [1].
The interview was conducted for Newsweek with Leonardo Feldman and also aired on Fox News’ “My View with Lara Trump” [4]. The U.S. position emphasizes that a rushed election could undermine the long-term stability of the new government.
“Venezuela's return to elections remains a work in progress and is expected to take months, not years.”
The U.S. strategy shifts from the immediate goal of regime change to a phased stabilization period. By insisting that reconciliation precede elections, the U.S. is attempting to ensure that the electoral infrastructure is impartial and that the social climate is stable enough to prevent another authoritarian ascent, acknowledging that 25 years of systemic collapse cannot be reversed by a single vote.
