The President of the United States, Donald Trump, defended his decision on Friday to maintain a temporary alliance with Delcy Rodríguez, interim president of Venezuela, asserting that his aim is to prevent the country from experiencing the chaos that followed the invasion of Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein.
“Remember that there is a place called Iraq, where everyone was fired —every person, the police, the generals— and they ended up becoming ISIS. I remember that,” Trump stated in response to a reporter who asked why Washington has decided to work with Rodríguez and not with María Corina Machado.
The leader argued that his administration is seeking a "controlled, stable, and effective" transition in Venezuela, following the capture of former president Nicolás Maduro in early January.
“If you eliminate everyone at once, you destroy the security structure and create a vacuum that can be filled by much worse forces. We want to avoid another Iraq,” he stated. He also remarked that Machado was a good woman.
The White House has reiterated that Rodríguez has fulfilled “all the demands and requests of the United States” since taking office, including energy agreements and security commitments.
According to press secretary Karoline Leavitt, the president "is satisfied with Venezuela's cooperation and hopes it will continue."
Trump described Rodríguez as "a fantastic person," although he emphasized that the support from Washington is strategic and conditional.
“She is doing what she needs to do. If she complies, there will be no military deployment. If not, we will make different decisions,” said the leader.
Trump's remarks come just a day after his meeting with María Corina Machado at the White House.
The Venezuelan opposition leader, who won the Nobel Peace Prize 2025, has stated that she is ready to assume the government alongside Edmundo González Urrutia “when the right moment arrives.”
“We have a mandate from the Venezuelan people. We are preparing to take the government when our moment arrives,” Machado stated during her appearance at The Heritage Foundation in Washington. The leader described the situation in the country as “difficult and challenging, yet historic.”
Machado also criticized Rodríguez, whom he accused of "following orders" from Washington and representing "only a temporary phase of the transition."
"The Venezuelan people are the missing piece in this process. We represent that legitimacy," said the opposition leader.
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