Sen. Ted Cruz calls for elections in Venezuela to proceed ‘rapidly’

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Sunday renewed his call for free and fair elections in Venezuela, just two days after the Trump administration announced that the U.S. would take over 65 billion barrels of oil from the South American nation.

“There need to be democratic, free elections in Venezuela,” Cruz told NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” adding later in the interview that elections should take place there “midway through next year.”

The acting Venezuelan president, Delcy Rodríguez, took over after U.S. forces captured then-President Nicolás Maduro in January and brought him to the U.S. to face drug-trafficking charges.

“Delcy Rodríguez was Nicolás Maduro’s vice president,” Cruz said Sunday. “Maduro was illegitimate. He was a Marxist. He had seized power contrary to the will of the voters, and from the beginning, I have been urging, and I believe the administration is working towards this, that there should be free and fair elections.”

The senator also praised the oil deal announced on Friday that will allow the U.S. to take control of 65 billion barrels of oil reserves from Venezuela.

“The oil deal as announced sounds like it could have a very positive impact on the United States and the United States economy, on American jobs, and a very positive impact on gas prices over the long term,” Cruz said, adding that he doesn’t think the U.S. needs to prioritize free and fair elections in Venezuela over the oil deal.

“I don’t think the timing matters as much as the one versus the other. I think the oil deal will move as rapidly forward as it can,” he said. “But I think free and fair elections need to proceed, and they need to proceed rapidly. I believe they should proceed no later than midway through next year.”

The Trump administration, the senator added, is “working rapidly to do that.”