Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Venezuela’s path to having free and fair elections could take months and weeks rather than years, calling it a “process.” “They have to happen,” Rubio said after meeting with Paraguayan Vice President Pedro Alliana. “Obviously, there’s a lot of work that has to happen to lay the groundwork for an election.” “You have to have true freedom of the press. You have to have multiparty participation,” Rubio added.
“You have to have national reconciliation. You have to have an electoral commission that will accurately count the votes,” he explained. Rubio made his comments months after the U.S. led a mission to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on charges of drug trafficking. “We want to … help improve the daily lives of Venezuelans economically so that they’re better off, they’re more prosperous,” Rubio said. “I think that helps as well facilitate the political transition.” Rubio did not offer a date for when elections would be held.
