Rubio Says Venezuela Needs Electoral Overhaul Before Vote

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Venezuela must replace its current electoral infrastructure before holding a legitimate election, arguing that it was designed under Nicolás Maduro to manipulate results and that the National Electoral Council is controlled by partisan loyalists. He said the United States supports talks between interim authorities and opposition groups to reform the country’s institutions, including the electoral council and, according to U.S. officials, the Supreme Court. Rubio described the reform effort as making progress and warned that obstructing it would harm Venezuela. No election date has been set, while opposition leader María Corina Machado has returned to the country.