The president of the United States, Donald Trump, continues to weave the threads of power in Venezuela. He has acknowledged that this Thursday he had a new conversation with , who has been in Washington for a week holding meetings with different authorities to try to find allies for his cause. “I like it a lot,” he said.
From Air Force One, the presidential plane, which is traveling back from Davos (Switzerland), where Trump has revealed to the journalists accompanying him that he has spoken again with Machado: “We talked. We have a very good relationship. She is a great woman. A very good woman who has been through a lot.”
Last Thursday, the US president received the Venezuelan opposition leader at the White House where they had lunch. Machado took the opportunity to present her with the Nobel Peace Prize medal, which she received last October, and which Trump coveted so much. “You can be assured that President Trump is committed to the freedom of all political prisoners in Venezuela and the freedom of all Venezuelans,” the Venezuelan said after the meeting.
Although he has acknowledged that he maintains a good relationship with Machado, the Oval Office tenant has emphasized that the current president of the Latin American country, Delcy Rodríguez, also has his support. “He has shown very strong leadership so far,” he stressed when asked by journalists.
“I also spoke with María (Corina Machado) today and I like her a lot, but Delcy (Rodríguez) has shown very strong leadership,” he insisted to journalists.
The American leader plays with two decks. While recognizing the leadership of the current Venezuelan president, heir to the Chavista regime, he highlights the good relationship she maintains with the opposition. In fact, this week has opened the door for the first time for Machado to have a prominent role in the future of the Latin American country.
“Maybe we can involve her in some way. I would love to be able to do that,” he said Tuesday during the celebration of his first year in the White House in his second term.
Machado has been in Washington for a week, where he is intensifying his contacts with US legislators, international organizations and other power groups, where he has expressed his concern about the situation of the Venezuelan political prisoners who are still imprisoned by the Chavista regime. Furthermore, Machado has insisted on the need for a political transition in his country, which allows the regime to change. For this reason, this week he stressed that he would love to “return as soon as possible” to Venezuela.
The Trump Administration overthrew Nicolás Maduro on January 3, since then it has supported Rodríguez as president of the country in a kind of guardianship. The US president frequently repeats how well the new Venezuelan authorities are collaborating, having already delivered 50 million barrels of oil to Washington. The White House does not hide that it wants to control Venezuela’s vast oil reserves and revive the crude oil industry, in a strategy in which it wants to involve the US oil majors.
[Noticia de última hora. Habrá actualización en breve]
