Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado said that she is in “constant contact“ with representatives of the Donald Trump administration and is coordinating her return to Venezuela, Bloomberg reports.
“I am discussing this with the US government and we are working in coordination, with mutual respect and understanding“, Machado said at a press conference in Madrid.
According to her, the talks with the American side were “detailed and frank“, but by mutual agreement remain largely confidential.
She indicated that the main goal of her return was to ensure “civilian and organized“ a channel for expressing “the concerns and aspirations of Venezuelans for democracy, centered around the electoral process“.
Machado thanked Trump for, in her words, “putting the lives of American citizens at risk for the freedom of Venezuela“ and reaffirmed her decision to award him the Nobel Peace Prize as “a mandate of the Venezuelan people“. “There is one leader in the world, one head of state in the world who has put the lives of his country's citizens at risk for the freedom of Venezuela, and that is Donald Trump“, the opposition leader said.
Machado also criticized the rule of Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, calling it “a regime that represents chaos, violence and terror“. She claims that Rodriguez's steps to combat corruption are simply compliance with US demands, not the result of a "change of attitude".
Rodriguez was appointed acting president the day after the capture of Nicolas Maduro. She initially demanded his release and insisted that Venezuela would never become a colony, but later agreed to cooperate with the US.
Bloomberg reported that Trump had endorsed Rodriguez as Venezuela's interim leader because of her experience in developing the oil sector.
Last week, a senior US State Department official, Michael Kozak, testified at a congressional hearing that Washington was seeking guarantees from Venezuela's interim government for Machado's safe return and participation in upcoming elections, along with other opposition figures. However, he added that several preconditions for holding the elections, including electoral reform, are needed before a specific date for the vote can be set.