The political landscape in Venezuela appears to be entering a new chapter after Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that formal democratic transition talks will begin on August 1, a development that follows months of extraordinary changes in the South American nation.
The announcement comes after an operation that the Trump administration says fundamentally altered Venezuela’s political future. According to the account presented by the administration, President Donald Trump ordered a mission in January that resulted in Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro being taken into U.S. custody from a military compound in Caracas.
Just six months later, Rubio stepped before reporters at Joint Base Andrews before departing for the Philippines and unveiled what supporters are calling the next phase of Trump’s Venezuela strategy.
