U.S. Sen. Rick Scott says democracy will arrive in Venezuela following Nicolás Maduro’s arrest, but it may take time. Meanwhile, the Naples Republican believes the clock may be winding down on communist rule in Cuba.

“It’s going to be a lot of work to get to democracy and freedom,” Scott said of Venezuela. “What we have to think about is, we want the kids in Venezuela to have the same opportunities we want for our kids and grandkids to have. It’s going to take a lot of people in Venezuela to have to bust their butt to make this happen.”

Florida’s senior Senator at a Doral press conference shared the stage with representatives of María Corina Machado, a longtime opposition leader in Venezuela forced into exile by Cuba’s government, as well as with Jose Daniel Ferrer, a Cuban dissident leader long imprisoned and recently released to exile in South Florida.

The latter served as a significant sign of what Republican lawmakers in Florida want next on the Latin American check against communist regimes. Scott referenced Ferrer while suggesting that with Maduro deposed, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel remains in a more tenuous position.

“He’s been here with a fighter for freedom and liberty and in Cuba,” Scott said of Ferrer, “and he knows, like we all do, that the days of Díaz-Canel are numbered.”

U.S. Rep. Carlos Giménez, a Miami-Dade Republican, also attended and asserted that Díaz-Canel should be concerned about his own future. He pointed to remarks by President Donald Trump late Sunday, as reported by Fox News, predicting Cuba was “just going to fall. I don’t think we need any action. Looks like it’s going down. It’s going down for the count.”

“I’m hardened also by the words that were spoken by the President yesterday, saying he’s now turned his eye a little bit over to Cuba,” Giménez said. “If you’re shuddering a little bit, if you’re a little bit scared in Cuba, I think you should be.”

But Giménez also acknowledged that the arrest of Maduro marks the start of a democratic chapter in that Latin American nation, not an end. Since then, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez on Saturday called for the immediate release of Maduro and said he remained the “only President” of Venezuela. But on Monday morning, she wrote in a social media post that she wanted to work with the U.S. on resolving the international conflict peacefully.

“Venezuela reaffirms its commitment to peace and peaceful coexistence. Our country aspires to live without external threats, in an environment of respect and international cooperation. We believe that global peace is built by first guaranteeing peace within each nation,” Rodriguez wrote.

“President Donald Trump, our peoples and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war. This has always been President Nicolás Maduro’s message, and it is the message of all of Venezuela right now.”

Giménez said the path forward will be long in bringing appropriate leadership into place in Venezuela.

“This is not going to be easy, probably easier to arrest Nicolás Maduro than it is to convert Venezuela into the democracy that we want. But have no doubt that the day of a free and democratic Venezuela is close at hand,” he said.

On that front, Scott broke significantly from Trump regarding the role of Machado in the nation’s future. Trump on Saturday controversially said Machado was “a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect” to lead Venezuela.

But Scott predicted Machado will be part of Venezuela’s leadership. “She’s well respected by Venezuelans,” Scott said.

At the press conference, María Teresa Morín, a close confidante of Machado, praised Scott and other Florida lawmakers for keeping the priorities of the Venezuelan people high within the administration.

“I have told María Corina Machado, one of the things she has to do first when she becomes President, hopefully soon, is give a Venezuelan passport to all of you,” she said. “You deserve it. … This year we have elections, and you have risked your political capital to defend the Venezuelan people, to support us in an exceptional way.”

She also stressed that more figures within Maduro’s regime still must be brought to justice, naming Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and National Assembly Leader Jorge Rodríguez, the Vice President’s brother, by name.

But Scott urged patience among the Venezuelan people and the diaspora in Florida. Asked about Trump’s remarks that he expected Secretary Marco Rubio and others in his administration to “run” Venezuela right now, Scott said he had trust in the administration. Rubio notably served alongside Scott as a U.S. Senator before his confirmation as America’s top diplomat last year.

“There is a process to get to democracy,” Scott said. “We would all like it to happen in a day, right? And I think it’s going to happen, but it’s going to take time to make that happen.”