President Donald Trump met with anti-socialist Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, discussing the future of the country following the capture of former dictator Nicolás Maduro.
Machado, the leader of center-right party Vente Venezuela, escaped from the Maduro-controlled nation in December with the help of the Trump administration to receive her Nobel Peace Prize in Norway after facing threats from the regime.
“I’m going to have to speak to her. She might be involved in some aspect of it. I will have to speak to her. I think it’s very nice that she wants to come in. And that’s what I understand the reason is,” Trump told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins during a White House meeting with oil executives last week.
Following the private meeting, Machado was surrounded by supporters and members of the press on the street.
Speaking in Spanish, she said, “Know that we are counting on President Trump for the freedom of Venezuela.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump’s opinion on Machado has not changed since he said that she does not have the necessary support amongst Venezuelans to lead the country in Maduro’s place.
“I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader,” Trump said at a press conference from Mar-a-Lago hours after U.S. troops captured Maduro on January 3. “She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.”
Speaking to reporters on Thursday just as the meeting between Trump and Machado began in the White House, Leavitt said, “I know the president was looking forward to this meeting, and he was expecting it to be a good and positive discussion with Ms. Machado, who is really a remarkable and brave voice for many of the people of Venezuela,.”
When asked about whether the president stands by his claim that the Venezuelan opposition leader cannot lead the country, Leavitt confirmed that he does.
“It was a realistic assessment based on what the president was reading and hearing from his advisers and national security team, and at this moment in time, his opinion on that matter has not changed,” she said.
She added that Trump is “committed to hopefully seeing elections in Venezuela one day,” but did not indicate when.
While Trump has not endorsed Machado, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) asserted that she will eventually become Venezuela’s president.
Speaking with NewsNation’s Blake Burman in the days following Maduro’s arrest, Scott said, “It’s going to happen” for Machado.
“María Corina Machado is a fighter, she is loved by Venezuelans in Venezuela, and in America, and in Chile, and in Colombia, every place Venezuelans have gone because she has been a fighter forever,” he said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged that Machado is “fantastic” the day after Maduro was captured, but said that “We are dealing with the immediate reality,” which is that “The vast majority of the opposition is no longer present inside of Venezuela.”
“We have short-term things that have to be addressed right away,” he added.
Venezuela’s socialist regime also sent an envoy to Washington, D.C. on Thursday, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
Sources with knowledge of the plans told the outlet that the regime was going to send Venezuelan Ambassador to the United Kingdom Félix Plasencia on behalf of Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who was vice president under Maduro.
Trump praised Rodríguez as a “terrific person” after speaking to her over the phone on Wednesday, Politico reported.
Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.
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