Trump Meets Machado Amid Venezuela Opposition Power Struggle/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ M<orning Edition/ President Donald Trump met Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado despite previously questioning her leadership prospects. His administration now leans toward working with Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice president. The meeting highlights ongoing U.S. efforts to reshape Venezuela’s political future post-Maduro.
Trump-Machado Venezuela Talks Quick Looks
- Trump meets María Corina Machado despite past skepticism.
- U.S. administration signals openness to working with Delcy Rodríguez.
- Trump administration orchestrated capture of Maduro, now on trial in U.S.
- Machado sought meeting after winning Nobel Peace Prize.
- No major policy expectations set for Machado’s visit.
- Rodríguez has begun releasing political prisoners under U.S. pressure.
- U.S. aims to secure control of Venezuelan oil through regional strategy.
- Machado previously led large anti-Chávez and anti-Maduro efforts.
Deep Look
Trump Meets With Venezuelan Opposition Leader After Cozying Up to Maduro’s Successor
WASHINGTON — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, discussing Venezuela’s future in a politically fraught moment that highlights Trump’s shifting stance on who should lead the South American country after the ouster of Nicolás Maduro.
Machado, long a symbol of resistance against Venezuela’s socialist regime, has been overshadowed by the Trump administration’s growing willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice president and current head of state operations. Despite leading a movement that many credit with winning Venezuela’s disputed 2024 elections, Machado has found herself on the political sidelines as Washington seeks a pragmatic path forward.
Trump has previously dismissed Machado’s credibility, casting doubt on her ability to govern. Yet the Thursday meeting, held over lunch at the White House, signals a potential thaw—or at least a nod to Machado’s longstanding efforts to secure U.S. support.
A Cautious Meeting, Low Expectations
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the meeting as a positive discussion and referred to Machado as “a remarkable and brave voice” for the Venezuelan people. However, Leavitt noted that Machado initiated the meeting and emphasized there were no set expectations for policy outcomes.
“President Trump is committed to seeing Venezuela hold elections ‘one day,’” Leavitt said, stopping short of specifying a timeline.
Machado’s visit to Washington also includes meetings on Capitol Hill, where she will speak with senators. Trump has publicly described her as “a nice woman,” but downplayed the likelihood that the meeting would produce any significant policy changes.
The meeting followed a new U.S. military action in the Caribbean, where another sanctioned oil tanker was seized. The operation is part of a broader U.S. campaign to secure control of Venezuela’s oil sector after American forces captured Maduro and his wife in Caracas and brought them to the United States to face drug trafficking charges.
The Trump administration says that Venezuela’s interim government, under Rodríguez, has been cooperative since Maduro’s removal. Rodríguez, while a Maduro loyalist, has presented a more moderate tone in dealings with Trump and has begun releasing political prisoners—actions seen as gestures toward U.S. preferences.
Trump and Rodríguez’s New Dynamic
Trump confirmed that he held a lengthy phone call with Rodríguez this week, describing their conversation as productive.
“We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things,” he said during an Oval Office appearance. “And I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela.”
Rodríguez’s more conciliatory stance on Trump’s “America First” policies appears to have helped thaw relations. Her government released several American detainees this week, moves believed to be in response to U.S. pressure.
This pivot to cooperation with Rodríguez, however, has pushed opposition leaders like Machado further into the background—even as many Venezuelans consider her the rightful winner of the 2024 election.
Machado’s Struggle for Recognition
Trump’s dismissal of Machado has been blunt.
Just hours after Maduro’s capture, he said, “It would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.”
Still, Machado has carefully avoided criticizing Trump. After winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025—a recognition Trump had long coveted—she publicly thanked him and even offered to share the award with him. That gesture was rejected by the Nobel Institute.
Machado had been in hiding for most of 2025 following a brief detention in Caracas. She re-emerged in Oslo, Norway, in December when her daughter accepted the Nobel Prize on her behalf.
An industrial engineer and daughter of a prominent steel magnate, Machado rose to political prominence in 2004 when she co-founded Súmate, a civic organization that promoted a referendum to recall President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado, along with other leaders, faced conspiracy charges.
In 2005, she angered Chávez supporters by meeting with President George W. Bush in the White House. The image of her shaking Bush’s hand remains etched in Venezuela’s political memory, particularly given Chávez’s antagonism toward the U.S. government.
Nearly two decades later, Machado mobilized millions of Venezuelans to reject Chávez’s successor, Maduro, in the 2024 election. Despite strong evidence of her victory, Venezuela’s electoral authorities declared Maduro the winner, sparking mass protests and a subsequent crackdown.
Now, with Maduro removed but her political fate uncertain, Machado continues to navigate a complex U.S. foreign policy environment—one in which her role is still being defined.
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