Post Trump meeting, Venezuelan opposition leader says country will hold 'free and fair' elections 'eventually'

By Fox News · Fox News

After meeting with President Donald Trump, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said Friday that Venezuela will hold "free and fair" elections "eventually" as Nicolás Maduro’s vice president Delcy Rodriguez continues to rule the country after his capture. Machado did not offer a timeline for how long the current interim government would be allowed to rule, only that elections would happen "as soon as possible." "I am profoundly, profoundly confident that we will have an orderly transition." Speaking at a news conference hosted by the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington, Machado said Venezuela is taking "the first steps of a true transition to democracy," but stressed that dismantling the country’s repression apparatus must come before any credible election can be held. "We are facing a very complex and delicate process," Machado said. "Eventually we will have free and fair elections," she added, while emphasizing that security, rule of law and the release of political prisoners must come first. Machado rejected the idea that Venezuela’s constitutional election timelines could be applied immediately, arguing that years of repression have hollowed out democratic institutions. She said hundreds of political prisoners remain unaccounted for and warned that fear and coercion are still widespread inside the country. "The fact that you are not in a prison doesn’t mean that you are free," she said, citing restrictions on speech, movement and political organizing. RUBIO LAYS OUT THREE-PHASE PLAN FOR VENEZUELA AFTER MADURO: 'NOT JUST WINGING IT' Her comments come after the Trump administration faces growing scrutiny from critics over the lack of a clear electoral roadmap following the Jan. 3 operation that led to the removal of longtime strongman Maduro . Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described a three-phase U.S. plan — stabilization, recovery and transition — but acknowledged that the final phase remains undefined. During her Washingt…