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.”

Earlier this month, Cruz joined a bipartisan group of senators in introducing a resolution affirming the United States’ support for free and fair elections in Venezuela.

Cruz also spoke Sunday about the ongoing U.S. military conflict in Iran and called on the Trump administration to arm Iranian protesters to achieve a goal of “regime collapse” in the Middle Eastern nation.

“I would like to see the longer-term objective be regime collapse,” Cruz said, adding later: “What I’ve been urging is for President Trump and the Trump administration to arm the protesters, so that the people of Iran ... remove this regime from power. Not American boots on the ground, but the Iranian people.”

Days earlier, President Donald Trump posted an image on Truth Social declaring “mission accomplished” in Iran.

On Sunday, the senator said the “initial mission” in Iran — degrading the nation’s military capacity — was complete, but called for the removal of the ayatollah as a secondary objective.

Cruz also spoke about his presidential ambitions, which sparked headlines this week after he told MS NOW in an interview that the GOP has not automatically chosen Vice President JD Vance as President Donald Trump’s successor.

“There’ll be time to figure that out,” the senator told MS NOW, adding, “I’ll certainly be part of the discussion.”

Asked directly about whether he’s seriously considering a presidential campaign in 2028, Cruz said Sunday that he would make a decision after November’s midterm elections.

“The Book of Ecclesiastes tells us there’s a time for every season. This is not that season right now. This is the season of the midterms, and I’ll tell you, I’m spending my time on the road, campaigning for candidates all over the country,” the senator said.

“There will be a time for that conversation” about running for president, he said later in the interview.

Trump praised Cruz on Thursday when asked in the Oval Office about the senator potentially running for president in 2028.

“I would say that he’s very talented. He’s a very good friend of mine. I think he might do that, yeah. He’s a very — he’s a talented guy,” the president said.

Ten years ago, Trump and Cruz faced off in the Republican presidential primary as major foes. Trump went on to beat Cruz to win the GOP nomination and the presidency, but along the way delivered a stream of insults against Cruz, his father and his wife.