Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, has stated that the country will hold elections only when it is politically ready, linking a return to the polls to an agreement among all political actors. In an interview with Time magazine, Rodríguez said: “Venezuela will celebrate elections when it is ready. That moment will come when all the political actors of the country reach an understanding and we can tell the nation that we, as politicians, are ready.” She declined to answer directly when asked about the possible return of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado to compete electorally, saying instead that the country must “advance towards a new political era.”

The interview comes as a US-backed political dialogue opened in Venezuela on Saturday, seven months after the capture of former president Nicolás Maduro by US forces on 3 January. The process involves Rodríguez’s interim government and a faction of the opposition supported by Washington, but excludes Machado, who has announced from Panama that she will not participate. According to Le Devoir, many observers believe there is a US veto on Machado’s return, although US officials deny this. The dialogue is being led by Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly and brother of the interim president, and by Dinorah Figuera, an opposition figure who heads the group that won a majority in the 2015 legislative elections, a result later invalidated by Maduro.

Rodríguez also addressed the broader geopolitical shift since Maduro’s capture. She told Time that Maduro’s biggest mistake was that “we should have been more open geopolitically,” justifying the move towards a new relationship with the United States. She noted that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio supervises the framework regulating Venezuela’s oil revenues and public finances, and maintains near-daily contact with her. Rodríguez said she received an ultimatum from Rubio after Maduro’s capture: accept US demands or face sustained military pressure. A US official told Time that “there were no viable alternatives.” The following morning, she spoke with President Donald Trump about restoring diplomatic relations and identifying areas of common interest.

The rapprochement has already produced concrete steps: US companies such as ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips have returned to Venezuela, commercial flights have resumed, and the US and Venezuela have coordinated operations against the Tren de Aragua criminal organisation. Rodríguez emphasised opportunities for joint cooperation against drug trafficking and transnational organised crime. On the economic front, she said Venezuela is working to reintegrate into global markets, diversify the economy, and attract long-term foreign investment, with oil and gas seen as key to developing the petrochemical industry. The dialogue process is expected to address the reconstruction of democratic institutions, the strengthening of the electoral body, and guarantees for political participation, according to the US State Department, though no details on location, timetable or dynamics have been released by the parties.