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Sunday, January 4, 2026
Rubio says idea of Venezuela elections ‘premature’ after US capture of Maduro
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives to speak during an end-of-year press conference in the State Department Press Briefing Room in Washington, DC on December 19, 2025. (Mandel NGAN / AFP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says discussions of Venezuela holding elections following Nicolas Maduro’s ouster and arrest by the US were “premature,” with Washington focused on ensuring the remaining leadership in Caracas enacts policy changes.
Asked how soon Venezuelan elections would be following Maduro’s capture by US forces yesterday, Rubio tells NBC’s “Meet the Press,” “All of that, I think, is premature at this point.”
“What we are focused on right now is all of the problems we had when Maduro was there. We still have those problems in terms of them needing to be addressed. We are going to give people an opportunity to address those challenges and those problems,” he says.
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