Overview
- Rubio, in a Tuesday Fox News interview, said Venezuela must go through a transition and hold free, fair elections and urged patience without complacency.
- The secretary of state met Tuesday with opposition leader María Corina Machado to discuss rebuilding democratic rule and a staged plan for stabilization, recovery, and a vote.
- Delcy Rodríguez has governed under U.S. oversight since a January U.S. raid captured Nicolás Maduro, which the U.N. human rights office said broke international law.
- Washington cut Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba and threatened tariffs on other suppliers after the raid, and Rubio said more U.S. moves on Cuba are coming as blackouts and cancer care risks deepen.
- Human rights experts criticized efforts to tap Venezuelan oil and threats against Cuba as echoing an imperial approach, adding to legal and moral scrutiny of U.S. policy.