US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Venezuelan Foreign Minister Oliver Blanco at the State Department in Washington on Monday, November 2, 2026, pressing for faster election preparations and the release of remaining political prisoners. The Rubio Venezuela talks are among the highest-level encounters between a senior Trump administration official and the acting government of Delcy Rodríguez, according to The Hindu.
The meeting came two weeks after Venezuelan authorities and opposition figures agreed on a blueprint to reform the electoral process for free and fair elections at some point in 2027, according to The Hindu.
A State Department readout said Rubio reaffirmed the president’s three-phase plan: stabilisation, economic recovery and political reconciliation, and democratic transition, according to the Straits Times. The readout said Rubio urged the continued release of the remaining political prisoners in Venezuela.
Foro Penal, a non-governmental organisation, said there were 344 political prisoners in Venezuela as of September 18, according to the Straits Times. The figure is the most recent cited in the sources.
Blanco also met US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to discuss developments in Venezuela, according to a US readout cited by the Straits Times.
The visit was Blanco’s first to the United States since Rodríguez named him foreign minister last week.
The background to the talks is a major shift in Venezuelan leadership. The Trump administration ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro in a January military operation. Maduro was brought to the United States to face drug trafficking charges, which he denies. Rodríguez took over after the January raid. She met Trump at the UN General Assembly in September, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright met her in Caracas in August to seal a massive oil deal.
Neither Rubio nor Blanco gave a statement after the meeting, and no Venezuelan government readout was cited in the reports. Only the State Department and US readouts describe the content of the talks, and neither reports what Blanco said.
No election date has been set. The Straits Times reports that officials have not given details on timing, while The Hindu cites a 2027 target. The Hindu’s coverage is largely a short wire report with no detail on the specific election reforms, and the 344 prisoner figure has not been updated since September.
According to the outline’s sources, officials say the Trump administration will keep watching events closely and press all sides to comply with the new electoral process. Elections are expected at some point in 2027, but no date has been announced.
Sources
This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.