Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with his Venezuelan counterpart in Washington on Monday (November 2, 2026) as the Trump administration has stepped up efforts to press the interim government and opposition groups to make quick progress on preparations for elections that could be held next year. U.S.
Rubio held talks with Foreign Minister Oliver Blanco at the State Department just two weeks after Venezuelan authorities and opposition figures agreed on a blueprint to reform the country’s electoral process to allow for free and fair elections to take place at some point in 2027. Monday’s (November 2, 2026) meeting was one of the highest-level encounters between a senior Trump administration official and a counterpart from acting President Delcy Rodríguez’s government. Mr. Neither man spoke as they posed for photographs before their meeting. In his last significant comments about Venezuela, Mr. Mr.
Rubio said last week that the Trump administration, which ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro in a January military operation, would be watching events closely and urging all sides to comply with the new process. He said the goal is to help put in place a sustainable election architecture that will give all parties confidence in the vote.
Rubio has met previously with the speakers of the current and former Venezuelan Parliament as well as opposition leader María Corina Machado, who returned to the country last month.
