US Backs Three-Step Plan for Venezuela Ahead of 2027 Vote

The United States is pressing Venezuela to complete a sequence of economic and political steps before holding a presidential election scheduled for 2027. Secretary of State Marco Rubio outlined this gradual approach to Venezuelan Foreign Minister Oliver Blanco during a meeting in Washington on Monday.

The diplomatic discussion occurs nearly one year after US forces removed former President Nicolas Maduro from Caracas. Maduro was taken to the United States to face charges including drug trafficking. The State Department stated that the US reaffirmed President Donald Trump’s three-phase plan for the country. The plan includes stabilization, economic recovery with political reconciliation, and finally a democratic transition.

Neither Rubio nor Blanco provided media comments after their meeting. The State Department issued a written readout detailing the agreed-upon sequence of events.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado returned to her country last week. She publicly thanked President Trump and Rubio for their support in her effort to organize an election movement. Machado, who gifted her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump in 2025, noted that the US has set a clear path toward the 2027 vote.

Machado is currently navigating a complex political landscape involving the Trump administration’s energy interests. Interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who assumed power after Maduro’s removal, has engaged with Washington on oil matters. In September, the Trump administration announced a deal granting the United States a stake in roughly one-fifth of Venezuela’s oil resources.

The agreement involves a joint venture with North American Blue Energy Partners, a company owned by Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt. NABEP is the second-largest private oil operator in the country, behind Chevron. Under the terms, Caracas granted NABEP 100-year rights to 17 oilfields with proven reserves of 65 billion barrels. The Pentagon holds a 35 percent stake in the venture, and the US government is guaranteed the right to purchase 20 percent of the oil output at cost.

Interim President Rodriguez recently told the nation that elections would occur with the world as witness, though she did not provide a specific date. Machado said she had not received any direct message from Rodriguez or Washington regarding a potential meeting. She expressed skepticism about the transparency of the oil agreement, stating it does not reflect the level of clarity the Venezuelan public expects.