The president of the United States, donald trumpincluded the opposition leader María Corina Machado within its political strategy to advance the democratic transition of Venezuela, although maintaining the negotiation with interim president Delcy Rodríguez as the central axis.
According to a report from the Argentine media Infobaethe Trump’s road map for Venezuela is considered a state secret within the Republican administration and only a small group of officials knows the complete plan: the Secretary of State Marco Rubiothe vice president J.D. VanceSecretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the chief of staff Susie Wiles.
Infobae points out that Machado and the opponent Edmundo González Urrutia did not participate in the decisions that led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro or in the opening of the political dialogue with Delcy Rodríguez.
Trump justified this strategy by appealing to his historical vision of international conflicts and the need to avoid a power vacuum in Venezuela.
“I remember what happened in Iraq, where everyone was fired: the police, the generals. And in the end ISIS arrived”he explained trumpwhen answering why he chose to speak with Rodríguez instead of initially doing so with Machado. The logic, according to the president, is negotiate with existing power structures to avoid chaos scenarios like those experienced in Vietnam, Afghanistan or Iraq.
In that context, Marco Rubio opened a permanent communication channel with Delcy Rodríguezand after evaluating that she accepted the conditions imposed by Washington, Trump ordered a direct call with Maduro’s successor at the Miraflores Palace. After that conversation, the American president came to publicly praise her: “Delcy Rodríguez is an exceptional person.”
Trump’s request to Machado
The rapprochement between Washington and Rodríguez, as well as a public message from the Chavista leader accepting the rules proposed by the White House, impacted Machado’s political environment, according to Infobae. However, shortly after, the opposition leader was summoned to a private lunch with Trump at the White House, while he was still in Europe.
Machado arrived in Washington in reservestayed in a residence protected by the Secret Service and held meetings with his closest circle. In the meeting with Trump — which was also attended by Rubio, Vance and Wiles — the opposition leader presented her own road map, questioned the role of Delcy Rodríguez, ratified her intention to return to Caracas and reiterated that she will run as a presidential candidate when the electoral schedule is defined.
According to the report, Trump showed personal closeness and political respect towards Machadopraised his intelligence and listened to his approaches, but remained firm in his strategy, in which the negotiation with Rodríguez will continue to be a priority. The president asked the opposition leader not to return to Venezuela until receiving the green light from the White House, a request that Machado accepted.
Infobae highlights that, although his role will not be immediate, Machado was formally incorporated into Trump’s geopolitical strategy for the Venezuelan transition and could access key information that he previously only received indirectly.
“I think María Corina Machado is a very good woman, and we will meet again“Trump stated at the end of the lunch, sealing a political understanding that, although with different times, places it within the American design for post-Maduro Venezuela.
