Maria Corina Machado, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Venezuelan opposition leader, thanked Donald Trump for risking to support the freedom of the Venezuelan people. She also declined a meeting with the Spanish Prime Minister and plans to coordinate with the U.S. to return to Venezuela and promote democracy there.
Maria Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader, delivered a speech in Madrid during her visit to Europe last Saturday. She said that Venezuelans will remember and appreciate what U.S. President Donald Trump has done to help the country break free from its shackles.
Machado praised Trump as a world leader willing to risk the lives of his own citizens to support Venezuela’s freedom. She emphasized that she "does not regret" symbolically awarding Trump the Nobel Peace Prize in January as a tribute to his courage.
During her visit to Spain, Machado refused to meet with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, leader of Spain’s left-wing coalition government, citing that it was inappropriate since Sánchez was hosting a summit of progressive leaders in Barcelona, which conflicted completely with her right-wing liberal views.
Although Sánchez expressed readiness to meet Machado anytime and supported Venezuelans deciding their own future without foreign interference, Machado chose instead to meet with Isabel Díaz Ayuso, leader of the Madrid region and a major political rival of Sánchez, before joining a rally with Venezuelan exiles at Puerta del Sol square.
Machado revealed she is closely coordinating with the U.S. government on plans to return to Venezuela to lead a genuine democratic transition after U.S. military forces entered Caracas and ousted Prime Minister Nicolás Maduro in January, leading to the establishment of an interim government headed by Delcy Rodríguez.
She also urged the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to resume operations in Venezuela to audit the economic system and "open the vaults of the central bank" to reveal the country’s actual gold reserves.
Machado concluded by saying, "It is now clear that there are those who want Venezuela to be a democracy and those who want to maintain the old power... The simple question is, ask them when they will hold new elections."
Source: AP /Reuters