“If things are done too soon, blood could be spilled,” says Benjamín León Jr. speaking about Venezuela
14ymedio/EFE, Madrid, May 27, 2026 — The United States ambassador to Spain, Benjamín León Jr., said this Wednesday that the war initiated by the U.S. and Israel in Iran “extends” the timeline of the transition outlined by the Administration of Donald Trump for Venezuela following the capture of Nicolás Maduro at the beginning of the year.
“I have no doubt that María Corina Machado’s day will come in Venezuela,” León said confidently at a news breakfast held in Madrid.
At the event, attended by business leaders and politicians, the new U.S. ambassador to Spain since February, recalled that Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had outlined “the Venezuela issue” in three stages: stabilization, recovery, and transition.
“We are still in stage one. In my personal opinion, the Iran war has extended the time of that first stage”
“We are still in stage one. In my personal opinion, the Iran war has extended the time of that first stage,” he opined and, immediately afterward, stated that “it is the responsibility of the United States to protect” the Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado.
“If things are done too soon,” León argued, “blood could be spilled and the United States would be guilty of that.”
Thus, the ambassador defended that “the United States is being very cautious and is carrying forward, little by little, step by step, the process of complete and total democratization in Venezuela.”
“The time will come for the people to vote for whichever person they prefer among all those who will run when the time comes,” he predicted, insisting that this would be the final stage of the U.S. plan and refraining from setting a timetable for reaching it.
One would have to ask President Trump or Secretary Rubio “so they could tell us more or less when they think that will happen,” he concluded.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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