Trump says Venezuela is “not ready” to hold elections and sets no timetable

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Venezuela does not yet meet the conditions to call elections, five days after announcing the agreement granting Washington majority control over a fifth of the country's oil reserves for a century.

“I don't think they're ready yet. It's very new, we got them out of a dictatorship and we get along very well with the government. Delcy, as you know, is doing a very, very good job. She is very respected and we want that and they want it too. Delcy wants it, but they are not ready yet,” he said in the Oval Office, referring to acting president Delcy Rodríguez. He added that he hopes elections can be held soon, but did not specify what conditions must be met or set out any timetable.

A senior US administration official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, expressly ruled out setting a date. “It would be an artificial deadline,” he said. “But we want it to be as soon as possible, once the conditions are in place.” He urged patience and argued that Venezuelan institutions were degraded over the previous two decades and must be rebuilt before elections can be considered free and fair.

The same official listed the prerequisites Washington considers necessary: economic and legal stability, a free press, political parties with sufficient time to organise, a credible electoral process and a legal system “that does not disqualify candidates”. The agreement reached on August 12 between the interim government and a section of the opposition, which annulled and restarted the process for appointing Supreme Court justices, made no reference to the National Electoral Council or to political prisoners. The talks will hold further sessions in mid-September.

The US position follows a three-stage roadmap set out after the military operation that captured Nicolás Maduro in Caracas on January 3 and took him to New York, where he awaits trial on drug trafficking charges. The first two phases cover reconstruction of the oil sector and economic stabilisation; elections belong to the third.

The agreement announced last week grants a joint venture between the US government and the Venezuelan company North American Blue Energy Partners hundred-year rights over seventeen fields holding some 65 billion barrels. The firm belongs to businessman Alejandro Betancourt, who is under investigation in Switzerland and Spain without any conviction against him. Critics argue the deal may create an incentive to prolong the interim government's tenure and delay the transition. The US administration maintains it continues to seek elections, but that the Venezuelan economy must be revitalised first.