Rubio meets new Venezuelan foreign minister, urges release of political prisoners

• Marco Rubio met Venezuela’s new foreign minister, Oliver Blanco, and pressed for the release of more political prisoners under the country’s political transition.
• The US said the talks backed a three-phase plan for “stabilisation, economic recovery and political reconciliation, and democratic transition”, with reforms aimed at “free, fair, and credible elections”.
• NGO Foro Penal said 344 political prisoners were held on 18 September, while Venezuela’s government and opposition have said fresh elections will be held, but gave no date.

WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Oliver Blanco on Nov 2, calling for the release of more political prisoners jailed under deposed leader Nicolas Maduro as part of the country’s political transition.

The meeting marked Blanco’s first US visit after being named to his post last week by interim president Delcy Rodriguez, who has led Venezuela under Washington’s oversight since American forces ousted Maduro in January.

“Secretary Rubio reaffirmed the President’s three-phase plan for Venezuela: stabilisation, economic recovery and political reconciliation, and democratic transition,” a State Department readout of the meeting said.

The diplomats posed together in front of the press briefly before the meeting, though neither gave a statement.

“The two discussed progress in the Venezuelan-led reconciliation talks, including institutional reforms that lay the groundwork for free, fair, and credible elections,” the readout added.

“Secretary Rubio urged the continued release of the remaining political prisoners in Venezuela,” it continued.

Maduro, who had led Venezuela since 2013 with an increasingly authoritarian bent, was widely accused of arresting political opponents and other activists, often on trumped-up charges of coup plotting.

Washington has pressed for the release of political prisoners since Rodriguez assumed power, with a landmark amnesty law leading to the release of many, though hundreds remain behind bars.

The most recent tally from non-governmental organisation Foro Penal, which defends political prisoners, said there were 344 such prisoners in Venezuela as of Sept 18.

After a series of talks, both the Venezuelan government and opposition figures have said that Venezuela will hold fresh elections, without providing details on when they would take place.

Blanco also met with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, with whom he “discussed developments in Venezuela and opportunities to advance the Trump Administration’s three-phase approach of stabilisation, recovery, and transition”, according to a US readout. AFP