The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, stated this Monday that Venezuela's electoral infrastructure was designed by Nicolás Maduro's government to rig elections and warned that it must be replaced before the country can hold a new legitimate vote.
Her statements come amid negotiations between the interim government of Delcy Rodríguez and opposition sectors to reform Venezuelan institutions.
Rubio made the statements during a phone conversation with journalists, according to the agency Reuters, one day after the return to Venezuela of the opposition leader María Corina Machado.
The head of U.S. diplomacy stated that the electoral system inherited from chavismo does not provide the necessary guarantees for credible elections and that its transformation must occur swiftly.
Washington's position is not limited to changing the electoral authorities. It also includes the renewal of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), regarded as one of the fundamental bodies to ensure that future results are not annulled or altered through judicial decisions.
According to Reuters, a senior official from the State Department explained that the United States hopes that the current discussions will lead to the establishment of a new Supreme Court before the end of 2026 and a renewed National Electoral Council shortly thereafter.
"I believe we are making real progress in that regard. But if someone tries to derail the process, they will be causing great harm to Venezuela," the Secretary of State stated.
The official did not set a specific date for the presidential elections, despite insisting that the institutional renewal must take place promptly.
The Trump administration is, however, managing a roadmap that envisions Delcy Rodríguez's exit from the acting presidency by 2027.
According to the agency EFE, the U.S. government believes that, once the Supreme Court and the National Electoral Council are renewed, Rodríguez should declare the absolute vacancy of the Presidency.
A senior official from the State Department explained that this declaration would activate the mechanism provided in Venezuelan legislation to call for elections within a period of six months.
"Once those two things are established—the new TSJ at the end of this year, and the new CNE (National Electoral Council) shortly thereafter, a process that has already begun—then Rodríguez should declare the presidency vacant permanently," said the official, according to the Spanish agency.
The proposal suggests that elections would not be called immediately, but rather after modifying the institutions responsible for organizing, overseeing, and resolving conflicts related to the process.
Washington believes that this sequence would allow for elections whose results are accepted by both the winners and the losers.
The objective was explained by the American official: "Our goal is to achieve elections where, once held, the losing party acknowledges that the process was fair."
The roadmap represents an expectation of the Trump administration and does not yet equate to a formal decision by the Venezuelan authorities to declare the presidency vacant.
A definitive date for the renewal of the National Electoral Council (CNE) or for the holding of the elections has also not been established.
This Monday, the Secretary of State provided new details about the efforts made by Washington with the Venezuelan interim authorities.
According to statements collected by EFE, Rubio confirmed that the United States had informed Rodríguez's government weeks ago that Machado should be able to return to his country without hindrance.
Venezuelan authorities responded that the opposition leader could enter, even using an airport, and Washington conveyed that information to its team.
"We said: 'Look, our expectation is that she is Venezuelan. She belongs to her country. It is the country she comes from. She should be allowed to return,'" Rubio explained.
The official stated that the U.S. administration was not behind the obstacles faced by Machado in his previous attempts and attributed them to decisions made by third countries.
He also stated that, according to the information available to Washington, the leader had been able to return and move around Venezuela without incidents.
His return, however, does not mean that he is formally participating in the ongoing political negotiations.
Reuters noted that the Vente Venezuela movement, led by Machado, is not part of the negotiation table backed by Washington, despite the role that the leader has played in the opposition to Maduro.
The situation has led to differences regarding who should participate in defining the electoral calendar and in the country's institutional reorganization.
Machado has advocated for the need to move towards elections in 2027, while the Trump administration insists that institutional conditions must first be in place to allow for a valid vote.
The process unfolds after U.S. forces captured Nicolás Maduro during a military operation carried out on January 3, 2026, and transported him to the United States to face charges related to drug trafficking.
After the capture, Delcy Rodríguez, who had served as Vice President, took over the leadership of the Venezuelan government and began a phase of cooperation and negotiations with Washington.
The political conversations involve the interim Executive and representatives from opposing sectors, including the delegation linked to the National Assembly elected in 2015, led by Dinorah Figuera.
In that context, the U.S. government expects Delcy Rodríguez to vacate the presidency in 2027, once the institutional reforms deemed essential for calling new elections have been completed.
The proposal comes as opposition sectors have called for a quicker transition and guarantees of participation for all political forces.
The situation gained a new dimension on Sunday with Maria Corina Machado's return to Venezuela, after being away from her country for almost ten months.
The opposition leader announced her return with a message on social media: "I am here. With you.".
Machado had secretly left Venezuela in December 2025 to travel to Norway to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
In the months that followed, he tried to return several times but faced difficulties related to flight routes and entry authorizations.
After arriving, Rubio attributed Machado's return to the political reconciliation talks backed by the United States and defended the process as an opportunity to move towards free elections.
The opposition figure has also expressed her willingness to engage in dialogue with the current authorities. This Monday, her party confirmed that she would be willing to meet with Delcy Rodríguez, provided that the discussions allow for progress toward concrete agreements for Venezuela's political future.
The acting president publicly responded to the leader's return with criticisms of her media exposure.
Rodríguez labeled Machado's arrival a "show" and questioned her previous support for international sanctions and U.S. intervention.
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