South Americaupdated 1h ago2 min read
Photo · 2 November 2026Marco Rubio Meets Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Oliver Blanco, Urges Political Prisoner Releases
2 Western Mainstream1 Asian1 Latin American2 Other source typesPhoto: U.S. Department of State / US federal government, Public domain · Cropped for layout
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Rubio met Venezuela's Foreign Minister Oliver Blanco in Washington to discuss election preparations. Rubio urged release of political prisoners as part of Venezuela's transitional political reforms.
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Rubio meets Blanco in Washington
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Venezuelan Foreign Minister Oliver Blanco in Washington on Monday to discuss political reconciliation and institutional reforms tied to Venezuela's path toward elections.
The State Department readout said Rubio reaffirmed President Donald Trump's three-phase plan for Venezuela: stabilization, economic recovery, and political reconciliation, and democratic transition.
Le Monde reported that Rubio urged the release of more political prisoners jailed under deposed leader Nicolas Maduro as part of the country's political transition.
The meeting took place during the first high-level diplomatic meeting between the two countries since the restoration of relations after Nicolás Maduro's capture at the beginning of the year.
No election date set
Correspondent David Alandete, citing sources from the Department of State, reported that no specific date had been set for the elections at the time of the meeting. Euronews said Rubio and Blanco met at the State Department headquarters, barely two weeks after Venezuelan authorities and opposition representatives reached a minimal agreement to reform the electoral system and set the necessary conditions for holding free and fair ballots at some point in 2027.
Le Monde said both diplomats posed together in front of the press briefly before the meeting, though neither gave a statement. Rubio and Blanco posed for cameras before the start of the meeting, but neither made a statement.
Prison releases and election roadmap
Rubio particularly insisted on the need to release all political prisoners who remain incarcerated, calling it more urgent than the electoral agenda itself. Le Monde reported that the most recent tally from NGO Foro Penal said there were 344 such prisoners in Venezuela as of September 18.
Euronews said the meeting was one of the highest-level contacts between a senior Trump administration official and a representative of the government led by interim president Delcy Rodríguez. Foro Penal verified 104 releases in Venezuela, while still counting 322 political prisoners as of October 26, and it said Venezuela's official figures claimed more than 626 detainees released since December.
