Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the Trump administration’s decision to work with the remnants of ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro’s regime Wednesday, as Democrats raise questions about the timeline for elections and a transition to democracy in the South American petrostate.
Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio reiterated previous statements that the ultimate goal in Venezuela is to restore democracy, but he emphasized that the country needs to stabilize so that the opposition can actually participate in free and fair elections.
“You can have elections, you have elections all day, but if the opposition has no access to the media, if opposition candidates are routinely dismissed and unable to be on the ballot because of the government, those aren’t free and fair elections,” Rubio said. “That’s the end state that we want: A free, fair, prosperous and friendly Venezuela. We’re not going to get there in three weeks. It’s going to take some time.”
Rubio has consistently pushed the need for elections in Venezuela, though without giving a timeline. His comments suggest that a ballot could be well into the future. Some others inside the administration have argued that elections aren’t needed, as POLITICO has reported.
In the face of sharp questions from Democrats, Rubio also insisted that working with acting Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodríguez is a necessary step.
“No one here is telling you this is what we want to see in the long term.” Rubio said. “Whether we like it or not, the elements of control in that country — the people with the guns, the people that control the guns and the institutions of government there — are in the hands of this regime.”
Rubio also declined to dwell on specific comments from Rodríguez in recent weeks, saying that “we are going to judge based on actions not words” and pointing to examples of Venezuelan authorities increasingly cooperating with the United States since the Jan. 3 operation to capture Maduro.
It was the first time the secretary of State and acting national security adviser had spoken to lawmakers in a public hearing since the campaign against Venezuela began months ago, and Democrats used that setting to criticize the administration for a lack of transparency around the military operations in Venezuela.
“Consulting with Congress is not just some high-minded principle, not some abstract thing, not a nice-to-have. It’s a got-to-have,” said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.).
Democrats and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) also raised questions about the timeline for future elections in Venezuela. The administration has not committed to a hard plan to see elections in the South American petrostate, but worries have mounted on both sides of the aisle that a long wait for elections may allow Rodríguez and the remnants of the Maduro regime to entrench their grip on power.
Rubio, who noted he’s meeting later Wednesday with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, said that the administration does want to see more progress toward stabilizing the country over the next few months. But Rubio reiterated that more steps need to be taken, including reopening the U.S. embassy in Caracas.
“When we finally have people on the ground, like the ambassador and the team around her on a daily basis that are interacting, because one thing is for me to pick up the phone and talk to Delcy Rodríguez three times a week,” Rubio said. “Another thing is to have someone on the ground on a daily basis that’s following these events, is talking to civil society, but also engaging with interim authorities.”
