Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said on Thursday that the United States has suggested holding presidential elections in the country next year.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Monday that Venezuela’s electoral infrastructure had to be replaced before the country could hold a valid, fair election.
In her first major speech since returning to Venezuela at the weekend, Machado thanked President Donald Trump and Rubio for the removal of the country’s socialist leader, Nicolás Maduro, who was captured on Jan. 3 by U.S. special forces and taken to New York, where he was indicted on narco-terrorism charges.
‘Sequence of Steps’
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio has laid out a sequence of steps for moving toward a democratic transition that makes clear that presidential elections will be held in 2027,” Machado said.
The Epoch Times reached out to the U.S. State Department for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
On Monday, Rubio said the current election infrastructure “was designed by the Maduro regime to rig elections.”
“So, that infrastructure has to be replaced in order for these elections to be valid,” Rubio said.
Machado, who was prevented from challenging Maduro for the presidency in 2024, was
the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2025 “for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela.”
She is now lining up to challenge Maduro’s former vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, who became the country’s interim leader after he was ousted and has agreed to several deals with U.S. companies.
Trump has repeatedly praised Rodríguez for her cooperation with the United States and met her in New York for the first time on Sept. 22. The following day, Rodríguez addressed the U.N. General Assembly, saying Venezuela would transition to “a full democracy.”
Venezuelan Interim President Delcy Rodríguez and U.S. President Donald Trump (R) meet on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Sept. 22, 2026. Venezuela Presidential Palace Handout via Reuters
On Oct. 25, Trump referred to Machado as a “very nice woman,” adding, “But we’re doing really well in Venezuela.”
Machado—who is 59 and describes herself on her X account as “Venezuelan, mom of 3, engineer and liberal”—is the leader of Vente Venezuela, a party set up in 2012 to oppose the regime of the country’s then leader Hugo Chávez, who died the following year and was replaced by Maduro.
Democratic Transition ‘Irreversible’: Machado
“The democratic transition is irreversible, and we are here to ensure that it is organized and peaceful, and that it addresses the urgent needs of a country that is suffering greatly,” Machado said in a press conference at Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas.
She said Venezuela needed a truth commission, a transitional justice process, and a complete overhaul of the state security forces, which have been aligned with Chávez, Maduro and, in recent months, Rodríguez.
She also said Venezuela needed transparent contracts, open bidding processes for public deals and international arbitration to ensure the Venezuelan people receive value for the nation’s resources.
Rodríguez’s interim government has signed a string of deals with U.S. oil, gas, and mining companies.
On Aug. 31, the White House revealed details of a deal that would grant North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) 100-year concessions for 17 Venezuelan oil fields, holding roughly 65 billion barrels in proven reserves.
Machado said she had not seen the contract with NABEP but said it “evidently does not reflect the levels of transparency that Venezuelan society wants.”
Media outlets have also highlighted the controversial background of NABEP’s CEO, Alejandro Betancourt, but a U.S. official defended him and the deal during a call with reporters on Sept. 1.
“We vetted him through our system. There are no charges he’s facing in the United States for violation of any of our laws,” the U.S. official said of Betancourt.
Venezuela, the 51st State?
During a speech at a rally in the port of Corpus Christi, Texas, on Tuesday, Trump referred to the riches generated by the oil deals that have been made with Venezuela.
“It will become a prosperous country, and who knows, maybe someday soon it will become a prosperous 51st state,” Trump said. “That’s possible. Let’s make it the 51st state. And instead of a president, we’ll have an election for a governor. How about that?”
Asked about Trump’s comments, Machado avoided a direct answer and said those helping restore democracy would need guarantees.
Reuters contributed to this report.
