Trump to meet María Corina Machado after praising Delcy Rodríguez
According to her press office, Machado plans to convey to Trump the “gratitude of the Venezuelan people for his unwavering support for democracy and justice”
US President Donald Trump is set to meet on Thursday at the White House with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, hours after publicly praising senior chavista official, and acting ruller, Delcy Rodríguez, calling her a “great person” and saying Washington “works very well” with her.
The meeting will take place twelve days after a US military operation in Venezuela that led to the capture and transfer to the United States of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, who now face federal charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy and drug and weapons trafficking.
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Since the January 3 operation, Trump has publicly distanced himself from Machado, stating that she “does not have the support or the respect inside the country”, despite her prominence within the Venezuelan opposition. The planned agenda includes a closed-door working lunch at the White House and a later visit to the US Capitol.
According to her press office, Machado plans to convey to Trump the “gratitude of the Venezuelan people for his unwavering support for democracy and justice” and to ask him to “advocate for the release of all political prisoners”. In an interview with Reuters, Trump described his guest as a “nice woman” and said they would talk “about the basics”.
The meeting comes amid uncertainty over Washington’s next steps on Venezuela. Most international assessments concluded that Edmundo González Urrutia, backed by Machado, won the 2024 presidential election — results rejected by Maduro’s administration. The United States has yet to clarify whether it will push for new elections or how such a process might be structured.
