The United States is keeping the pressure on the Venezuelan interim government, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio formally demanding the release of the 322 political prisoners still languishing in detention.
This push comes in the wake of the successful January 3 military operation that saw U.S. forces capture dictator Nicolás Maduro, who now sits in a New York courtroom facing serious charges of drug trafficking and torture.
While over 1,000 prisoners have already been freed since the regime's collapse, the remaining detainees represent the final holdouts of a brutal era of repression.
During a meeting with Venezuelan counterpart Oliver Blanco, Rubio emphasized that the path to a credible, democratic future requires not only the release of these individuals but a complete overhaul of the nation's corrupt electoral infrastructure.
The demand aligns with the long-standing efforts of opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, who has been a vocal advocate for those unjustly imprisoned following the fraudulent 2024 election.
While the current interim administration under Delcy Rodríguez has pledged to hold elections, the U.S. remains adamant that the timeline for these reforms must be accelerated.
Secretary Rubio has made it clear that the American-backed plan for stabilization and democratic transition will not be delayed by bureaucratic foot-dragging, insisting that the necessary electoral changes must occur on the timeline established by the Trump administration.
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