Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has called for elections in Venezuela in July next year, saying there is “plenty of time” to prepare for them. This was reported by the British newspaper “Financial Times”, quoted by Reuters, BTA reports.
In her interview with the publication, Machado also called for transparency in the management of oil revenues, which are under the control of Washington.
“The Venezuelan people and the US government agree that the only way to find the true path to victory and sustainability is for Venezuela to become a stable democracy,“ said the opposition leader, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year.
Machado, who currently lives in Panama, has not returned to Venezuela since leaving the country in December last year to receive the international award in Oslo. According to her team, she has made at least seven attempts to return to her homeland by plane or ship in the past few months. However, her trips were canceled at the last minute for unexplained reasons.
“I think the United States understands that my presence in Venezuela would send a strong signal that the plan for a political transition is working“, Machado said.
She specified that she would support a proposal to hold elections on July 24 - the date on which Venezuela's national hero Simón Bolívar, leader of the country's war for independence, was born.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has said that it wants a political transition to be carried out in Venezuela, but has not yet announced a timetable for holding elections.
According to the “Financial Times“ Some Venezuelan opposition figures have criticized a recent deal that gave part of the country's vast oil reserves to a private company backed by the Pentagon.
Since January of this year, Washington has been managing the proceeds from Venezuelan oil sales. However, the Trump administration has not disclosed how the funds are collected or what they are spent on.