United States supports roadmap for Venezuelan leadership transition

The United States government is supporting a strategic roadmap aimed at renewing Venezuela’s key institutions, specifically the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) and the National Electoral Council (CNE). According to a high-ranking State Department official, work has already begun to establish a new TSJ by the end of this year, followed by a new CNE.

This institutional renewal is intended to lead Delcy Rodríguez to declare a permanent vacancy in the presidency, subsequently opening a six-month window to convene elections. Currently, Rodríguez assumed presidential functions on January 3 following the capture of Nicolás Maduro, acting under a TSJ order that designated her as acting president without declaring an absolute vacancy.

Separately, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the return of opposition leader María Corina Machado to Venezuela. Rubio stated that Washington had communicated to the Rodríguez administration weeks ago that Machado should be permitted to return, a request the Venezuelan authorities eventually granted.