Trump to Host Venezuelan Opposition’s Machado in Washington
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado will be in Washington next week, indicating he planned to meet with the Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Trump disclosed the planned meeting on Thursday during an interview with Fox News, saying Machado would be visiting Washington in the coming days. “I understand she’s coming in next week sometime, and I look forward to saying hello to her,” the president said.
If it goes ahead, the meeting would mark the first direct engagement between Trump and Machado, a prominent figure in Venezuela’s opposition movement and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
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The development comes against the backdrop of dramatic shifts in Venezuela’s political landscape following the recent capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife by U.S. forces. The couple were taken to New York to face trial on drug trafficking and weapons-related charges.
In recent remarks, Trump has questioned Machado’s level of domestic support, saying last week that she lacks the respect and backing needed to lead Venezuela. He has also suggested that the United States could play a dominant role in overseeing the country’s affairs for an extended period.
Speaking further in the Fox News interview, Trump said Venezuela, now under interim President Delcy Rodríguez, was in no position to conduct fresh elections. “We have to rebuild the country. They couldn’t have an election,” he said, adding that the institutions required to organise credible polls were effectively absent.
“They wouldn’t even know how to have an election right now,” Trump stated.
By PRNigeria
