VENEZUELA - Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has vowed she will lead the country "when the right time comes".
"There's a mission, and we are going to turn Venezuela into that land of grace, and I believe I will be elected when the right time comes as president of Venezuela, the first woman president," she told Fox News. Her comments come a day after she gave President Donald Trump her Nobel Peace Prize medal, calling it a recognition of his commitment to Venezuela's freedom. The US seized Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas on 3 January and removed him to New York to face various drugs and weapons charges.
However Trump has declined to endorse Machado as Venezuela's new leader, saying she did not have enough domestic support - despite her opposition movement claiming victory in 2024's widely contested elections. He has instead been dealing with the country's interim president Delcy Rodríguez, who had been Maduro's vice-president.
"I want to serve my country where I am more useful. I got a mandate, and I have that mandate," Machado added. She also visited Congress to meet US senators during her visit to Washington, where her remarks to reporters were drowned out by supporters chanting "María, presidente" and waving Venezuelan flags. Meanwhile in Caracas, Rodríguez held a two-hour meeting with the director of the CIA "at President Trump's direction" aimed at building trust and communication between the two countries, according to a US official.
"Director Ratcliffe discussed potential opportunities for economic collaboration and that Venezuela can no longer be a safe haven for America's adversaries," the official said. The same day, Rodríguez said she was not afraid to face the US "diplomatically, through political dialogue" during her first state of the union address since becoming interim president. She also said Venezuela needed to defend its "dignity and honour" and announced oil industry reforms to allow more foreign investment, in a step away from Maduro's policies. Trump called Rodríguez a "terrific person" on Wednesday after the pair spoke on the phone, a conversation the Venezuelan leader called "productive and courteous". (BBC)
