\n<\/p>\n
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has given her first formal news conference since fleeing her home country in December, and she used the occasion to reassure the United States of her unwavering support.<\/p>\n
She also outlined a vision of Venezuela\u2019s future where the South American country was closely aligned with US interests, following the abduction of former President Nicolas Maduro.<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n \u201cThe result of a stable transition will be a proud Venezuela who is going to be the best ally the United States has ever had in the Americas,\u201d Machado said at Friday\u2019s event.<\/p>\n The news conference came one day after Machado travelled to the White House for a brief, closed-door lunch with US President Donald Trump. It took place on stage at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank known for publishing a policy blueprint for Trump\u2019s second term, known as Project 2025.<\/p>\n Trump, like Machado, has long had a tense relationship with Maduro, the former bus driver who assumed Venezuela\u2019s presidency in 2013 as the late Hugo Chavez\u2019s hand-picked successor.<\/p>\n Maduro was a champion of Chavez\u2019s socialist political movement, chavismo, and he also faced widespread criticism for carrying out a campaign of human rights abuses, including the torture and imprisonment of political dissidents.<\/p>\n Since returning to office, Trump ratcheted up US pressure against Maduro\u2019s government, including through a large-scale military buildup in the Caribbean Sea and the bombing of alleged drug-trafficking boats leaving Venezuela.<\/p>\n But on January 3, Trump\u2019s campaign reached a zenith, as he launched a full-scale military attack on Caracas that resulted in Maduro\u2019s abduction and transport to New York City to face trial.<\/p>\n Trump described the military offensive as a law enforcement operation, but critics have denounced it as a violation of international law, including the United Nations charter.<\/p>\n Machado was among the figures who had lobbied for such an intervention to take place, and she used Friday\u2019s appearance to express gratitude for Trump\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n \u201cAs Venezuelans, we are absolutely grateful to President Trump, his team, his administration and the people of the United States because it took a lot of courage to do what he did,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd he did it, yes, on behalf of the American people, but also because he cares for the people of Venezuela, and he told me that yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump has previously said that the US will \u201crun\u201d Venezuela and that, if the current government there did not obey his demands, a \u201csecond wave\u201d of military action was possible.<\/p>\n So far, the Trump administration has avoided discussions of restoring Venezuela\u2019s democracy, and it has declined to provide a timeline for new elections.<\/p>\n Instead, it has recognised the interim government of President Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro\u2019s former deputy, citing the need for stability in Venezuela.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s support for Rodriguez has raised eyebrows, since Maduro\u2019s last two elections were hotly contested. The most recent, in 2024, culminated with the government withholding the vote tallies typically released on election night \u2014 and Maduro claiming victory in his pursuit of a third term.<\/p>\n The opposition coalition, led by Machado, subsequently released documents that appeared to show its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, winning by a landslide.<\/p>\n On stage at the Heritage Foundation, Machado reiterated her belief that she has a mandate from the Venezuelan people to lead the government.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are facing challenging times ahead. We are prepared to do what it takes as a legitimate government,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cEdmundo Gonzalez Urrutia and I have been in communication \u200apermanently all these days, and we feel the mandate from the Venezuelan people. That\u2019s why I\u2019m here, and that\u2019s what I conveyed to the president of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n But she softened her rhetoric, appearing to accept Trump\u2019s backing of the interim Rodriguez government.<\/p>\n She also called the democratic transition a \u201cvery complex, delicate process\u201d and said the current government would handle the \u201cdirty work\u201d of having to \u201cdismantle\u201d itself.<\/p>\n \u201cDelcy Rodriguez, yes, she\u2019s a communist. She\u2019s the main ally and representation of the Russian regime, the Chinese, and Iranians,\u201d she said, citing some of Venezuela\u2019s allies under Maduro.<\/p>\n \u201cBut that\u2019s not the Venezuelan people, and that\u2019s not the armed forces as well. So I am profoundly, profoundly confident that we will have an orderly transition. This is a complex phase we are [in] right now. Some of the dirty work is being done by them.\u201d<\/p>\n Machado, known for her unwavering opposition to the Maduro government, said that the Venezuela that will emerge in the aftermath of his removal will be a country built on \u201cmerit\u201d, echoing one of Trump\u2019s frequent talking points.<\/p>\n She also described a more affordable Venezuela where residents do not have to live on \u201chandouts\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe result of this process will be a society based on these values, a society that is profoundly pro-American,\u201d Machado told reporters at the Heritage Foundation.<\/p>\n She also addressed recent steps the Rodriguez government had taken to address concerns over Venezuela\u2019s human rights and appease Trump.<\/p>\n One reporter on Friday asked Machado about Venezuela\u2019s decision to resume accepting deportation flights from the US, where Trump has made the mass deportation of immigrants a central pillar of his second term.<\/p>\n A plane carrying approximately 199 Venezuelan deportees had arrived at La Guaira airport earlier in the day, marking the first such flight since Maduro\u2019s removal. At moments of tension, Maduro was known to reject such deportation flights.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all know how this regime weaponised migration against several countries, not only the United States,\u201d Machado told the reporter.<\/p>\n The United Nations estimates that nearly 7.9 million refugees have fled Venezuela in recent years, for reasons including oppression and economic instability.<\/p>\n Machado argued that restoring Venezuelan democracy would help pave the way for many Venezuelan migrants to return home, thereby helping to address Trump\u2019s concerns about immigration.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it is clearly in the best interest of the United States, and those that are concerned about migration, to have a transition take place as soon as possible. Because you will see millions coming back home,\u201d Machado said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not a matter of having all economic problems solved. People are willing to go back to be part of the solution,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n The opposition leader was also dismissive of the Rodriguez government\u2019s announcement that it had released nearly 400 political prisoners, though human rights groups speculate the number is much smaller.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that you are not in a prison doesn\u2019t mean that you are free. In Venezuela, they have left the jails, but they cannot speak to the press. They cannot leave the country, and they are still terrified,\u201d Machado said.<\/p>\n \u201cAll torture centres have to be closed. And certainly there have to be guarantees for journalists to speak out and those who have left the country to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n She added that, if the Rodriguez government respected Venezuela\u2019s constitution, there would no longer be political prisoners at all, and Gonzalez Urrutia would be president.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wouldn\u2019t have a president-elect exiled in Madrid. He would have taken power on January 9, 2024 \u2014 sorry, 2025,\u201d she said. \u201cWe realise that there\u2019s no rule of law in Venezuela.\u201d<\/p>\n Machado has faced criticism in the past for her embrace of far-right figures like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and it remains unclear what role, if any, she will have in Venezuela\u2019s future governance.<\/p>\n On January 3, the day of the US military operation, Trump appeared dismissive of her prospects, telling reporters, \u201cI think it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn\u2019t have the support within or the respect within the country.\u201d<\/p>\n But Machado remains popular among the Venezuelan opposition, both in the country and abroad, and her visit to Washington, DC, saw her thronged by supporters, who sought hugs and selfies.<\/p>\n On Thursday\u2019s visit, she sought to ingratiate herself to Trump by offering him the Nobel Peace Prize she accepted in December, after fleeing Venezuela in secret for fear of arrest.<\/p>\n She emphasised on Friday her view that a better Venezuela could only be built with Trump\u2019s backing.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only thing I want to assure the Venezuelan people is that Venezuela is going to be free, and that\u2019s going to be achieved with the support of the people of the United States and President Donald Trump of the United States,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has given her first formal news conference since fleeing her home country in December, and she used the occasion to reassure the United States of her unwavering support. She also outlined a vision of Venezuela\u2019s future where the South American country was closely aligned with US interests, following the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latin-america-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8910\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n
Machado \u2018absolutely grateful\u2019<\/h2>\n
A \u2018complex phase\u2019 in Venezuela\u2019s history<\/h2>\n
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\u2018Venezuela is going to be free\u2019<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"