The United States wants Venezuela to hold democratic elections without unnecessary delay, but not before conditions exist for a credible vote, senior State Department official Michael Kozak told lawmakers Tuesday, saying Washington is seeking "the middle ground" as the country recovers from last month's earthquake.
"We don't want elections too soon, when they can't be held because many things need to be changed; but we also don't want elections too far off," Kozak, deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs, told a Senate hearing. "People won't invest long-term if there's no democratic government."
