Venezuela’s Machado calls Trump ‘fundamental ally’ despite US support for Delsey Rodriguez

Santiago, Chile — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado reiterated on Thursday that the Trump administration remains a “fundamental ally” in the country’s democratic transition, as Washington has repeatedly endorsed interim President Delsy Rodriguez as Venezuela’s legitimate president.

Speaking in the Chilean capital, Santiago, Machado acknowledged “complex processes” ahead but maintained that the US government remains an important partner for Venezuela. He expressed confidence in the roadmap laid out by Trump, saying the process consisted of “three phases” – stabilization, recovery and transition to democracy.

Machado-backed presidential candidate Edmundo González is widely considered the winner of the 2024 election by international observers. Machado was prevented from running.

Machado’s comments came a week after the United States and Venezuela announced the restoration of diplomatic and consular relations, and US President Donald Trump congratulated Rodriguez for “doing a great job and working well with the US delegation.”

Speaking to reporters before meeting Venezuelan expatriates in Chile, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate praised the US as “the only country in the world that risked the lives of its citizens to secure freedom in Venezuela,” referring to the January US military operation to oust Venezuela’s then-president Nicolas Maduro.

Machado, who traveled to Chile to attend the inauguration of right-wing President Jose Antonio Caste, addressed the millions of Venezuelans displaced by the country’s ongoing crisis.

“About 700,000 Venezuelans live in this country. They are decent people who were forced to flee their homeland to save their lives,” he said. “What we are doing here today is for 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 need so much.”

His remarks came a day after Kast’s swearing-in ceremony, where he pledged to criminalize irregular immigration and expel some 330,000 foreigners living illegally in Chile – most of them Venezuelans. Despite these tough stances, Machado argued that he was “very grateful to President Caste,” arguing that “every country has the right — indeed the duty — to guarantee its own security.”

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