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The U.S. President Donald Trump swill meet with the Venezuelan opposition leader, María Corina Machado, next Thursday at the White House.
The news was confirmed to EFE by a U.S. Administration official.
The meeting comes after Trrump stated on Friday that María Corina "could be involved in some aspect" of the transition process in Venezuela.
His statement came after being asked about his upcoming meeting with her in Washington next week and the Nobel Peace Prize that, according to Trump himself, Machado wants to personally present to him.
“I will have to talk to her. She might be involved in some aspect of this. I will have to talk to her,” Trump responded, without specifying what role Machado would have or in which areas she might participate. He added that he found it “very nice” that she wanted to travel and reiterated, “I look forward to it.”
The comment was made in the context of questions about whether the potential gesture from the Nobel laureate could change his stance on Machado's role in Venezuela.
Trump insisted that he first needed to talk to her and linked the topic to his own narrative of foreign policy, asserting that he has "ended eight wars" and that he cannot think of anyone "in history" who deserves the Nobel "more" than he does, in contrast to Barack Obama, whom he criticized for receiving the award "almost immediately" after taking office.
At the beginning of the week, Trump had said in an interview with Fox News that he looked forward to greeting Machado when she arrived in Washington and that he would consider it “a great honor” to receive the Nobel as a gesture of gratitude for the military operation that led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro.
In that conversation, the presenter Sean Hannity mentioned that Machado had received over 92% of the votes to lead the opposition in 2023, although she was excluded from the presidential race by the decision of chavismo, according to the text.
In previous statements, Trump asserted that she "lacked the support and respect within the country" to lead Venezuela.
However, the Norwegian Nobel Institute reminded that the Nobel Prize “cannot be revoked or transferred” and that, once the laureate is announced, “the decision is final”; although the winners can access the prize money, they cannot transfer the recognition.
Trump did not specify what exactly Machado's involvement would entail, nor whether her role would be formal or advisory, only noting that "he will have to speak with her" and that "she could be involved" in "some aspect" of the process in Venezuela.
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