Republican Senator ‌Ted Cruz of Texas and Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire introduced a resolution reaffirming U.S. support for elections in Venezuela, calling for the release of political prisoners and saying ​that anyone - including senior government figures - should be punished if they ​are responsible for harming anyone seeking public office.

The bipartisan resolution comes ⁠amid increased frustration over what critics see as the Trump administration's failure to ​effect real change in Venezuela by pushing Venezuela's government, now led by acting President ​Delcy Rodriguez, toward free and fair elections.

Talks between Venezuela's interim government and a faction of the opposition are set to begin in the coming days, but without Maria Corina Machado, the country's ​most popular opposition leader.

"The people of Venezuela deserve free, fair, and transparent elections, ​and it is vital to the national security interests of the United States that those ‌elections occur ⁠expeditiously," Cruz, a senior member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement.

Shaheen, the committee's top Democrat, said authorities in Caracas must release all political prisoners and allow all political actors, including Machado, to safely return and participate in ​political activity.

The resolution has ​five other co-sponsors, ⁠four Democrats and one Republican.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Machado left Venezuela late last year to receive her Nobel after living ​mostly in hiding since a contested 2024 presidential election. She ​has vowed ⁠to return to help with the response to June's devastating twin earthquakes, frustrating U.S. officials who believe it is not the right time.

Trump has denied media reports that his ⁠administration ​told Machado not to return. Machado has repeatedly ​been publicly sidelined by Washington since Maduro's removal, with U.S. officials saying she does not have enough ​support to lead the country.