Machado says she counts on Trump, but White House backs Delcy Rodríguez
After the meeting, Machado told reporters only that it had gone “very well” and declined to say whether she had handed Trump her Nobel Peace Prize medal. Photo: REUTERS/Kylie Cooper
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado told supporters gathered outside the White House on Thursday that “we count on the president for Venezuela’s freedom” after holding a closed-door meeting lasting more than two hours with US President Donald Trump.
Her remarks contrasted with the official White House line. Earlier in the day, spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Trump’s view that Machado is “not the right person to lead political change in Venezuela” remains unchanged, calling it a “realistic” assessment. Leavitt added that the president is satisfied with the cooperation shown by Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodríguez, saying that “the president likes what he is seeing and hopes this cooperation continues”.
María Corina Machado saludando a los venezolanos afuera de la Casa Blanca. pic.twitter.com/gnhpAOu1uf
— Emmanuel Rincón (@EmmaRincon) January 15, 2026
After the meeting, Machado told reporters only that it had gone “very well” and declined to say whether she had handed Trump her Nobel Peace Prize medal, a possibility the US president had publicly welcomed. She later headed to the US Capitol for meetings with senators and lawmakers.
In Caracas, Rodríguez struck a defiant tone, calling the US capture of former president Nicolás Maduro a “kidnapping”. “If I ever have to go to Washington, I will go standing, walking, never crawling,” she told the National Assembly, while acknowledging a “stain” on bilateral relations following the January 3 operation.
Meanwhile, Washington intercepted another oil tanker in the Caribbean and seized its Venezuelan crude cargo, the sixth such action since December, as pressure mounts following the detention of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. Human rights groups cited by international agencies warned that many recently released detainees in Venezuela are not “fully free”, despite official announcements.
