The US has urged Venezuela to release the remaining political prisoners in the country, according to a US State Department statement.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Venezuelan Foreign Minister Oliver Blanco on Monday. Rubio called for the prisoners' release and discussed reforms aimed at laying the groundwork for free, fair and credible elections, the State Department said.
Venezuelan prisoners' rights group Foro Penal says 322 people remain in detention. More than 1,000 political prisoners have been freed since US forces seized Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in a military raid on Caracas on 3 January. Maduro faces trial in New York on drug-trafficking and torture charges.
Many of the detainees were arrested after the 2024 presidential election. The National Electoral Council, which is dominated by government loyalists, declared Maduro the winner. Copies of voting tallies collected by the opposition and verified by independent media suggested the opposition candidate had won. The Carter Center said the election "could not be considered democratic."
After Maduro's seizure, his vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, was sworn in as interim president. She has the backing of the Trump administration. Opposition parties have expressed impatience with the slow pace of reforms.
The State Department said it remains committed to President Donald Trump's three-phase plan: "stabilisation, economic recovery and political reconciliation, and democratic transition."
Rubio said last week that Venezuela's "election infrastructure" must be replaced before fresh elections can be valid. Rodríguez said in a televised address that "there will be elections" under a "renewed" electoral authority but gave no timeline. Opposition leader María Corina Machado, who returned to Venezuela on 25 October, has pushed for elections in 2027.