Opposition leader María Corina Machado said Friday that she is confident that the remains of what she called a “criminal regime” would eventually be dismantled in Venezuela and that there would be an orderly transition to free elections.
Machado spoke a day after meeting with President Donald Trump, to whom he presented his Nobel Peace Prize.
After the overthrow of Nicolás Maduro at the hands of US forces, Trump has backed former loyalists of the socialist leader, such as caretaker President Delcy Rodríguez, to govern the OPEC member nation in Machado’s place.
Machado’s movement is seen by much of the international community as the winner of the 2024 elections, in which Maduro is accused of having imposed himself fraudulently.
Since the January 3 lightning attack that toppled Maduro, Trump has prioritized access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves over the restoration of democracy in the country, and has made clear that he sees the current government as the best bet for maintaining order.
“I am confident that we will have an orderly transition (to the elections),” Machado said at a news conference at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank with close ties to the Trump administration.
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However, he emphasized that it is a delicate and complex process that would take time to develop.
He noted that “this has nothing to do with the tension or the relations between Delcy Rodríguez and me,” and insisted that the “criminal regime” that has governed Venezuela for years would eventually be dismantled. However, he did not elaborate on how this would occur.
Many Machado allies were imprisoned after the 2024 elections. The human rights group Foro Penal estimates that there are about 800 political prisoners in the country, including Rafael Tudares, son-in-law of opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González.
Mariana González said authorities allowed her to speak with Tudares for 25 minutes through an armored glass panel.
“I observed Rafael quite affected physically and emotionally,” González’s daughter wrote on her X account. “Isolation and separation from children are not human conditions for any person, no matter who they are.”
Coinciding with Machado’s visit to the White House on Thursday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe flew to Caracas and met with Rodríguez, in the highest-level visit known from Washington since Maduro’s ouster and another sign that the two sides are vying for favor with the Trump administration.
Machado praised Trump and avoided any direct criticism of his approach to post-Maduro Venezuela, which has frustrated many in the country’s opposition.
Machado presented her Nobel medal to Trump at the White House on Thursday, saying he deserved it and that it was a recognition of what she called his commitment to the freedom of the Venezuelan people. The Norwegian Nobel Institute has said the prize cannot be transferred, shared or revoked.
Trump had openly campaigned for the award before it was awarded to Machado last month, and complained bitterly when he was snubbed.
The president wrote on his Truth Social platform that Machado is a “wonderful woman who has been through so much” and that giving her her Nobel Prize was “a wonderful gesture of mutual respect.”
The White House later released a photo of Trump and Machado, with the president holding a large gold frame with the medal.
With information from Reuters
