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A day after Venezuela's exiled opposition leader returned to Caracas with great fanfare, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a veiled warning against interfering with the country's fragile democratic transition pushed by the Trump administration. "You're not going to street-protest your way into a democracy," Rubio told reporters Monday without explicitly mentioning María Corina Machado . Why it matters: Machado's demands for elections next year — and her criticism of a massive U.S. oil deal struck with the current Caracas regime — have put administration officials on edge after her surprise return. "Rubio is on a political edge," said a White House source familiar with his thinking. "Venezuela is the top foreign policy achievement of this administration, and if the progress we made gets undone and Machado is a spoiler, nobody wins." A Machado spokesperson didn't return messages seeking comment. Zoom in: Machado and U.S. officials agree that Venezuela needs to hold elections. But she has demanded they be held in 2027, while U.S. officials aren't sure. They want three things to happen first: Reform Venezuela's Supreme Court. It's stocked with loyalists of Nicolas Maduro, who was seized Jan. 3 by the U.S. and spirited to New York City to face narcotrafficking charges. The State Department hopes a new court is picked by year's end. Reform Venezuela's National Electoral Council. It's also filled with Maduro's people, and with the Supreme Court it helped him steal his last two elections as president. The State Department hopes a new council will be in place by early next year. Fix Venezuela's debt. Venezuela has one of the world's largest sovereign debt problems — $300 billion, more than its gross domestic product. The hoped-for timeline regarding this hurdle is less clear, and Rubio didn't explicitly discuss it Monday. Between the lines: As Axios first reported in September, Trump discussed all three of those issues with Rodriguez when he also told her privately that elections need to happen one day. In a transcript of Rubio's briefing, a senior State Department official added another possible issue: reforming the security services, which also could take time. "If you want a democratically elected government to succeed, you don't want them to inherit an economic apocalypse that brings it down," the official said, according to the transcript. "What happens when the security forces that are not loyal to the system decide they're not gonna follow orders from — no matter who got elected? They're not gonna follow their orders; they're not gonna follow through. Now Caracas once again becomes the murder capital of the Western Hemisphere, maybe the world." Rubio did not specify any timelines. He told reporters he wouldn't allow Venezuela's current government, run by former Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, to stall out Trump's administration, which ends in January 2029. "What if they just try to wait us out for two years? That's not going to happen," Rubio said. "I mean, we have timelines that are agreed to, and so far they've met every one of the timelines." To call for a new election, Rodriguez would have to declare a vacancy in the presidency. That would trigger an election six months later, State Department officials said. So under the most optimistic timeline, Rodriguez could call for an election for next June. Trump administration officials emphasized to Axios that no date for an election is clear, and that it could take place next year or in 2028. Rubio also said he wants to stay on the job as long as possible: "Best-case scenario, I'm in this job for two more years and two months. So I clearly intend to see this thing well in advance of the time I leave" the administration. The intrigue: Rodriguez and Machado (whom Maduro banned from running in 2024) have made clear their mutual opposition to each other. Without naming her rival, Rodriguez told reporters Monday that Machado should feel remorse or regret for supporting the "external onslaught, that external military-style aggression against Venezuela." That's code for the U.S. seizing of Maduro, but Rubio told reporters he's paying attention to Rodriguez's actions and not her words. So far, he said, she's delivered on eliminating Iranian and Cuban influence in the country and extraditing former Maduro ally Alex Saab, a cooperating witness against him. "If at the end of the day we have a new [Supreme Court], a new [Electoral Council], a new election, and a new ... system of government, that's what we want," Rubio said. "And no matter what people say along the way, as long as it happens, this is a results-based process." The bottom line: Rubio said Venezuela has "got to change the infrastructure of the elections. Not in 10 years. Not in five years. Not in two years. It needs to happen quickly under the timelines that we've established." "But if anybody tries to derail that process, they're doing great harm to Venezuela."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Venezuela's interim government told the U.S. "weeks and weeks" earlier that opposition leader Maria Corina Machado could return to the country without interference.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that the Trump administration told Venezuela's interim authorities "weeks and weeks ago" that opposition leader Maria Corina Machado should be allowed to return as the country moves ahead with preparing for elections next year.

Vice President JD Vance is leading Secretary of State Marco Rubio by 10 points in an early look at the 2028 Republican presidential primary field, according to a recent poll. Vance, with 33%, is ahead of Rubio at 23%, a New York Times-Siena University poll released Saturday shows. The two administration officials are the most […]

Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are at the top of early polling for the GOP presidential nod in 2028, while former Vice President Kamala Harris leads a wide-open Democratic field. A New York Times/Siena University survey released last week found Vance with 33 percent support from Republican primary voters, 10 points...

Marco Rubio's CIA invitation to Cuban insiders targets Havana's espionage apparatus, pressuring a dictatorship that recruited spies like Ana Belén Montes.

Marco Rubio's visit to Uzbekistan launched billions in US investment but Moscow impedes Western moves with kidnapping, corruption, and arson.

Iran has increased efforts to target U.S. personnel in the Middle East and other countries, according to a memo sent by the Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday. The memo warned that “the lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against U.S. citizens have reached advanced stages.” NBC News’ Matt Bradley reports.

The head of U.S. intelligence warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday that Iranian plans to target and kill U.S. citizens abroad have reached “advanced stages.” Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton sent a memo alerting that “lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against U.S. citizens have reached advanced stages” in the Middle East […]

The CIA posted a video on X showing the steps needed to contact the intelligence agency.

In a memo sent Friday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton said his teams "have received intelligence that Iran has substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel."

Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday that Iranian efforts to target American personnel abroad have intensified and that plots to kill U.S. citizens have reached “advanced stages,” as the Trump administration reduces staffing at several diplomatic missions across the Middle East. “Through various channels, we have received ...

‘Send Marco Rubio in to finish up the job’

Iran has increased efforts to target U.S. personnel in the Middle East and other countries, according to a memo sent by the Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday.

Nazhat Shameem Khan claims some staff are facing ‘banking difficulties’ but their work is unaffected The deputy prosecutor of the international criminal court has said that new US sanctions are already beginning to take effect on its staff but insisted they have not hindered the court’s work. US secretary of state Marco Rubio announced the sanctions earlier this month , accusing the ICC – a frequent Trump administration target – of being a “rogue court” and declaring: “Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC.” Continue reading...

The Democratic presidential primary race appears to be wide open, while JD Vance and Marco Rubio led among Republican voters, a New York Times/Siena survey found.

An intelligence memo sent to Marco Rubio reveals Iranian plots to kill Americans have reached advanced stages in the Middle East and other countries.

Iranian plots to target and kill U.S. officials in the Middle East have "substantially increased," according to a declassified intelligence memo dated Friday, with these efforts reportedly reaching "advanced stages." The warning, addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, came days after the State Department ordered the departure...

Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warned in a memo to Secretary of State Rubio that Iran has "substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel," and the plots have "reached advanced stages."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered Cubans a discreet CIA partnership opportunity in a Friday social media post, saying "now is the time" for those looking to "create positive change” in the Caribbean country. “The disappointment of failed promises, corruption, and the privileged lives of only a few; seize this opportunity to create the change...

President Donald Trump told a Florida crowd Friday that a U.S. warship could force Cuba’s communist government to surrender after Iran, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent to “finish up the deal.” The post Trump Tells Florida of Plans for USA to Topple Cuban Communist Regime appeared first on Breitbart .

Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a direct appeal to Cubans on Friday, encouraging them to join a “discrete partnership” with the CIA if they want to see change in their country. “The disappointment of failed promises, corruption, and the privileged lives of only a few; seize this opportunity to create the change you desire […]

US secretary of state makes comments after Trump tells US rally warships could intervene on return from Iran Marco Rubio urged Cubans seeking political change in their country to act, saying “now is the time” moments after Donald Trump told a Friday rally for candidates in south Florida that US warships could intervene in Cuba on their way back from the Iran war. The US secretary of state, in his social media post addressed “to those who seek to create positive change”, urged Cubans to capitalize on Trump’s plans. “The disappointment of failed promises, corruption, and the privileged lives of only a few; seize this opportunity to create the change you desire through a discrete [sic] partnership with the CIA,” Rubio said. Continue reading...

U.S. intelligence finds Iran has "substantially increased" its efforts to target American diplomats and officials in the Middle East and beyond, with lethal plots reaching "advanced stages," according to an Oct. 23 memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio obtained by Axios. Why it matters: U.S. officials say the intelligence is one reason the State Department is drawing down personnel at several American embassies across the Middle East, amid mounting fears of a broader regional conflict. U.S. officials also fear that Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen could expand their attacks beyond Saudi Arabia to other countries in the region. Adding to the volatile security environment is the prospect of renewed U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran, potentially after the midterm elections. What they're saying: "We may do another little Operation Epic Fury, or [the Iranians] will agree [to a deal]," President Trump said at a rally in Florida on Friday. "If they're smart, they will just say, 'Let's get down to business,' but I doubt they will do that because perhaps they're not smart." Driving the news: In the one-page, unclassified memo obtained by Axios, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warned Rubio that intelligence about Iranian assassination plots needs to reach more U.S. personnel than are currently authorized to receive it. The memo does not identify specific targets, countries outside the Middle East or the nature of the plots, but says the underlying intelligence has already been shared with senior State Department officials. Clayton offered to downgrade as much of the sensitive intelligence as possible so Rubio could share it more widely with personnel potentially at risk. State of play: Earlier this week, the State Department ordered family members and nonessential personnel to leave the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh and consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran. On Friday, the department also ordered reductions in U.S. diplomatic and government personnel at embassies in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Qatar and Jordan, a U.S. official said. "We decided that due to the threat of Houthi attacks and Iranian terror plots we need to reduce our footprint and keep only essential staff," the official said. CNN first reported on the reduction in staffing at the four embassies. Read the full memo .

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday called for Cubans to make "discreet" contact with the American intelligence services as Washington seeks to force an end to the island's communist government.