🚨BREAKING: Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Venezuela’s Maduro-era election machinery “was designed to rig elections” and must be completely replaced before any new presidential vote can be held. Rubio told reporters that the electoral system set up under Nicolás Maduro cannot deliver a valid election and needs to be changed quickly. The United States expects ongoing talks between the interim government in Caracas and opposition figures to produce a new Supreme Court by the end of 2026, followed shortly by a new National Electoral Council. The plan under discussion includes overhauling the court with 32 new justices, stripping the electoral council of the power to ban candidates, formally declaring Maduro’s permanent absence once the reforms are in place, and holding a free presidential election within six months of that declaration. “I think we’re making real progress in that regard,” Rubio said. “But if anybody tries to derail that process, they’re doing a great harm to Venezuela.” Maduro was captured by U.S. forces in January and taken to New York for trial. Opposition leader María Corina Machado recently returned to the country. Rubio has not set a firm election date but stressed that the institutional changes must happen on the agreed timelines.