SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado on Thursday reiterated that the Trump administration remains a “fundamental ally” for the country’s democratic transition, even as Washington has repeatedly endorsed acting President Delcy Rodríguez as Venezuela’s legitimate president.
Speaking in Santiago, the Chilean capital, Machado acknowledged the “complex processes” ahead but maintained that the U.S. government remains a vital partner for Venezuela. She expressed confidence in the road map established by Trump, highlighting that the process encompasses “three phases” — stabilization, recovery and a democratic transition.
International observers widely consider Machado-backed presidential candidate Edmundo González as the winner of the 2024 elections. Machado was barred from running.
Machado’s comments come a week after the United States and Venezuela announced the restoration of diplomatic and consular relations and after U.S. President Donald Trump complimented Rodríguez for “doing a great job, and working with U.S. Representatives very well.”
Speaking to reporters before meeting with the Venezuelan diaspora in Chile, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate praised the U.S. as the “only nation in the world that has risked the lives of its citizens to secure freedom in Venezuela” referring to the January U.S. military operation to capture Venezuela’s then-President Nicolás Maduro.
Machado, who traveled to Chile to attend the inauguration of far-right President José Antonio Kast, also addressed the millions of Venezuelans displaced by the country’s ongoing crisis.
“Nearly 700,000 Venezuelans live in this country. They are decent people who were forced to flee their homeland to save their lives,” she said. “What we are doing here today is asking all Chileans — and all Latin Americans — to help us ensure that every Venezuelan can return with dignity and freedom to the country they adore and that desperately needs them.”
Her remarks came a day after the swearing in ceremony of Kast, who has pledged to criminalize irregular immigration and expel nearly 330,000 foreigners living illegally in Chile — the majority of whom are Venezuelan. Despite these hard-line stances, Machado expressed she was “very grateful to President Kast,” arguing that “every country has the right — indeed, the duty — to guarantee its own security.”
___
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
