Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado expresses confidence in Venezuela’s transition to free elections after meeting Trump, but warns the path is complex.
WASHINGTON: Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado expressed confidence on Friday that Venezuela would see an orderly transition to free elections.
She cautioned, however, that the road ahead would be difficult and complex.
Machado spoke a day after meeting US President Donald Trump at the White House.
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During the meeting, she presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump as she sought US support for the opposition’s role in Venezuela’s future.
Trump has backed former Maduro loyalists, led by interim President Delcy Rodriguez, to govern the OPEC nation for now.
Machado’s movement was widely seen as the legitimate winner of the 2024 election that Nicolas Maduro was accused of rigging.
Since the January 3 raid that toppled Maduro, Trump has prioritised gaining access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
He has made clear he sees the current leadership as the best bet for maintaining order.
Machado said she insisted to Trump on returning to Venezuela as soon as possible.
She cited no tangible agreements with the US following their discussion.
“I am profoundly, profoundly confident that we will have an orderly transition (to elections),” she told a press conference.
She stressed that the process would take time to unfold.
Machado said the situation had nothing to do with tension between herself and Rodriguez.
She insisted a “criminal structure” that dominated Venezuela for years would eventually dismantle itself.
Machado branded Venezuela’s new leader a “communist”.
She said Rodriguez is afraid of Trump and holds an unsustainable position as head of a repressive system.
Rodriguez’s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Coinciding with Machado’s visit, CIA Director John Ratcliffe flew to Caracas on Thursday.
This marked the highest-level known US visit since the toppling of Maduro.
A photo circulated on social media showed Ratcliffe and Rodriguez shaking hands.
Machado expressed gratitude to Trump and avoided direct criticism of his Venezuela approach.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that Machado was a “wonderful woman who has been through so much”.
He said giving him her Nobel Peace Prize medal was “a wonderful gesture of mutual respect”.
The White House later posted a photo of Trump holding up a framed display of the medal.
Machado’s attempt to win Trump’s favour came after he dismissed installing her as Venezuela’s leader.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump stood by his “realistic” assessment.
She noted Machado did not currently have the support needed to lead the country in the short term.
Machado acknowledged “there may be some phase that we hadn’t anticipated or that we don’t like”.
She asserted the opposition was participating in Venezuela’s transition without offering specifics.
Machado fled Venezuela in a daring seaborne escape in December.
She is competing for Trump’s ear with members of Venezuela’s government.
Trump has on several occasions praised Rodriguez, Maduro’s former vice president.
He told Reuters on Wednesday, “She’s been very good to deal with.”
Ratcliffe met with Rodriguez at Trump’s direction to deliver a message from the United States.
A US official said they discussed intelligence cooperation and economic stability.
They also discussed ensuring Venezuela was no longer a safe haven for narco-traffickers.
Machado was banned from running in Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election by a top court.
Outside observers widely believe opposition figure Edmundo Gonzalez won by a substantial margin.
Many Machado and Gonzalez allies were jailed in the election’s fallout.
Rights group Foro Penal estimates about 800 political prisoners are in the country.
Among them is Rafael Tudares, the husband of Gonzalez’s daughter Mariana Gonzalez.
Mariana Gonzalez said authorities allowed her to speak with Tudares for 25 minutes through bulletproof glass.
She found him in poor health and visibly affected both physically and emotionally.
In an annual address on Thursday, Rodriguez called for diplomacy with the United States.
She said she would propose reforms to Venezuela’s oil industry aimed at increasing access for foreign investors.
International oil companies are lobbying for changes in Venezuelan law to freely export oil produced in the country. – Reuters