Venezuelan opposition leader Machado to visit the White House
President Donald Trump confirmed he will meet Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado at the White House next week, following the U.S. capture and transfer to New York of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to face federal charges. Trump told Sean Hannity he looks forward to the meeting, which the White House hasn’t detailed but will likely focus on Maduro’s arrest and related U.S. interests. Maduro faces U.S. allegations tied to drug trafficking and narco-terrorism; the administration framed the operation as aimed at stopping drug flows and securing Venezuela’s oil. Machado, who earlier dedicated her Nobel Peace prize to Trump, praised the operation and lavished him with praise despite being passed over as a potential successor. U.S. officials reportedly did not back her for leadership as of CIA concerns about instability and her limited domestic support; the administration is rather allowing Delcy Rodríguez to lead a transitional goverment provided that she cooperates. Reports suggested Trump’s decision was influenced by personal grievances over the Nobel situation; Machado has said she would like to share the prize with him.
Venezuelan opposition leader Machado to visit the White House: Trump
President Donald Trump has confirmed he will welcome Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado to the White House next week after U.S. forces captured the South American country’s authoritarian leader and brought him to New York to face trial on federal charges.
“I understand she’s coming in next week sometime, and I look forward to saying hello to her,” Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity late Thursday.
The president’s confirmation of the meeting comes days after Machado told Hannity she hadn’t spoken with Trump since she won the Nobel Peace Prize in October. At the time, she dedicated the prize to Trump for bringing into existence a peace deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
When asked if he would accept Machado’s award, Trump replied he would be open to it.
“I’ve heard that she wants to do that,” Trump said. “That would be a great honor.”
Next week’s meeting would be the first between the two leaders. The White House has not provided information about the meeting, but it will most likely center on the recent capture of former Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.
Maduro faces U.S. charges related to drug trafficking and narco-terrorism. The Trump administration cast the military operation leading to Maduro’s arrest as a means to stop the inflow of drugs facilitated by Venezuela, but the United States also wanted to control Venezuela’s rich oil reserves.
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Machado hailed the operation in an interview with Hannity this week, heaping flattery and praise onto the president despite being overlooked to replace Maduro.
The U.S. is not backing her bid as Maduro’s possible successor because the CIA recommended it may lead to instability within Venezuela. Additionally, Trump said it would be “very tough for [Machado] to be the leader because she doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.”
Instead, the Trump administration is letting former Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez lead the country, as long as she stays in line. Trump warned she will fare “worse” than Maduro if she refuses to comply with U.S. intervention.
Reports indicate Trump overlooked Machado to head Venezuela’s transitional government because he felt cheated by the Nobel Peace Prize snub last fall and wanted Machado to give the award to him. Some sources suggested she would have become Venezuela’s new leader if she had declined to accept the award in favor of Trump.
After such reporting emerged, Machado said, “I would certainly love to be able to personally tell him that we, the Venezuelan people — because this is a prize of the Venezuelan people — certainly want to give it to him and share it with him.”
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During the interview with Hannity, Trump touted his efforts in bringing about peace in several international conflicts since the start of his second term.
“When you put out eight wars, in theory, you should get one for each war because some of these wars were going on for 30 years,” he said, citing the decadeslong conflict between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “I got so many wars [stopped]. It’s such a beautiful thing.”
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