Trump says Machado lacks the support or respect to lead Venezuela

Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez was denied entry three times in a week

President Donald Trump said María Corina Machado did not have the support or respect within Venezuela to lead the country. After President Nicolás Maduro was removed from office at the start of the year, Trump said Machado was “a very nice woman” but “does not have the support or the respect within the country” to lead Venezuela.

Machado returned to Venezuela on Sunday for the first time in nearly a year. Spokesman David Smolansky said the return was “a major step toward a democratic transition and free, fair, and verifiable presidential elections in the near future.”

Her advisers said Machado had tried to return to Venezuela seven times in recent months but failed. In June, she tried to return to help with reconstruction after Venezuela was devastated by two powerful earthquakes. Machado said the government blocked the trip by closing its airspace.

Machado left the country last December to travel to Norway to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded to her for promoting democracy in Venezuela.

UPI reported that the U.S. military overthrew her rival, President Nicolás Maduro, a month after Machado left and has been working with the acting Venezuelan government since. The Trump administration has excluded Machado and former opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia from its dealings with Caracas, but it has involved other high-profile opposition leaders.

González, who is in exile, praised Machado’s return: “Today is a very important day for Venezuelans. Our sovereign voice returns with her to lead and guide this process!” He added that he also plans to return to Venezuela.

While acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly last month, she was denied entry three times in a week, UPI reported.

President Donald Trump said Sunday that he did not know about Machado’s return. Trump told CNN, “I don’t know anything about it, but I think she’s a very nice woman,” adding, “She gave me her Nobel Prize, so how can I say anything else? And I hope she’s safe.”