Trump says Machado ‘doesn’t have the support’ in Venezuela, wasn’t consulted
by Ryan Mancini - 01/03/26 5:30 PM ET
The Hill
President Trump on Saturday said Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado “doesn’t have the support” within Venezuela to be its next leader after U.S. troops captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and said she was not consulted prior to the operation.
“I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader,” Trump said at a press conference from his Mar-a-Lago resort hours after the attack. “She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.”
Trump said the administration did not talk to Machado about the attack and possibility of leading Venezuela. He leaned on Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez as Maduro’s successor, who he claimed was sworn in as the country’s president. Trump said he would work with her as the U.S. will “run” Venezuela until there is a peaceful transfer of power.
“I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader,” Trump said at a press conference from his Mar-a-Lago resort hours after the attack. “She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.”
Trump said the administration did not talk to Machado about the attack and possibility of leading Venezuela. He leaned on Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez as Maduro’s successor, who he claimed was sworn in as the country’s president. Trump said he would work with her as the U.S. will “run” Venezuela until there is a peaceful transfer of power.
“I just had a conversation with her, and she’s essentially willing to do what she thinks is necessary to make Venezuela great again,” Trump said. “Very simple.”
Rodríguez later dismissed Trump’s remarks, saying in a televised speech that Maduro is the country’s “only president.“
Machado said the “hour of freedom has arrived” in the hours following Maduro’s capture.
“Today we are ready to enforce our mandate and take power,” Machado said in a letter shared on the social platform X, translated by Le Monde. “Let us remain vigilant, active and organized until the Democratic Transition is realized. A transition that needs ALL of us.”
Machado placed her support behind opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia, whom Maduro defeated in Venezuela’s elections in 2024 amid allegations of widespread voter fraud. She said Urrutia must be “recognized as Commander in Chief of the National Armed Forces by all officers and soldiers.”
Residing in Europe, Machado said she would return to Venezuela whether or not Maduro remains in power. Her exact whereabouts are unknown.
U.S. troops captured Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores following strikes across Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, early Saturday morning. The U.S. Army’s Delta Force captured them from Maduro’s compound and brought them to the USS Iwo Jima, which is heading for New York where the two will face charges.
Latin American leaders condemned the attack. Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said on X that her country’s government “strongly condemns and rejects the military actions carried out unilaterally in recent hours by armed forces of the United States of America against targets in the territory of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in clear violation of Article 2 of the Charter of the United Nations (UN).”
“These acts represent a most serious affront to Venezuela’s sovereignty and yet another extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community,” Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva posted on X. “Attacking countries, in flagrant violation of international law, is the first step toward a world of violence, chaos, and instability, where the law of the strongest prevails over multilateralism.”
Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font called for “a peaceful solution to the serious crisis” in Venezuela.
“Chile reaffirms its commitment to basic principles of International Law, such as the prohibition of the use of force, non-intervention, the peaceful settlement of international disputes, and the territorial integrity of States,” Font wrote on X. “The Venezuelan crisis must be resolved through dialogue and the support of multilateralism, and not through violence or foreign interference.”
The Hill
President Trump on Saturday said Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado “doesn’t have the support” within Venezuela to be its next leader after U.S. troops captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and said she was not consulted prior to the operation.
“I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader,” Trump said at a press conference from his Mar-a-Lago resort hours after the attack. “She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.”
Trump said the administration did not talk to Machado about the attack and possibility of leading Venezuela. He leaned on Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez as Maduro’s successor, who he claimed was sworn in as the country’s president. Trump said he would work with her as the U.S. will “run” Venezuela until there is a peaceful transfer of power.
“I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader,” Trump said at a press conference from his Mar-a-Lago resort hours after the attack. “She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.”
Trump said the administration did not talk to Machado about the attack and possibility of leading Venezuela. He leaned on Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez as Maduro’s successor, who he claimed was sworn in as the country’s president. Trump said he would work with her as the U.S. will “run” Venezuela until there is a peaceful transfer of power.
“I just had a conversation with her, and she’s essentially willing to do what she thinks is necessary to make Venezuela great again,” Trump said. “Very simple.”
Rodríguez later dismissed Trump’s remarks, saying in a televised speech that Maduro is the country’s “only president.“
Machado said the “hour of freedom has arrived” in the hours following Maduro’s capture.
“Today we are ready to enforce our mandate and take power,” Machado said in a letter shared on the social platform X, translated by Le Monde. “Let us remain vigilant, active and organized until the Democratic Transition is realized. A transition that needs ALL of us.”
Machado placed her support behind opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia, whom Maduro defeated in Venezuela’s elections in 2024 amid allegations of widespread voter fraud. She said Urrutia must be “recognized as Commander in Chief of the National Armed Forces by all officers and soldiers.”
Residing in Europe, Machado said she would return to Venezuela whether or not Maduro remains in power. Her exact whereabouts are unknown.
U.S. troops captured Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores following strikes across Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, early Saturday morning. The U.S. Army’s Delta Force captured them from Maduro’s compound and brought them to the USS Iwo Jima, which is heading for New York where the two will face charges.
Latin American leaders condemned the attack. Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said on X that her country’s government “strongly condemns and rejects the military actions carried out unilaterally in recent hours by armed forces of the United States of America against targets in the territory of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in clear violation of Article 2 of the Charter of the United Nations (UN).”
“These acts represent a most serious affront to Venezuela’s sovereignty and yet another extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community,” Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva posted on X. “Attacking countries, in flagrant violation of international law, is the first step toward a world of violence, chaos, and instability, where the law of the strongest prevails over multilateralism.”
Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font called for “a peaceful solution to the serious crisis” in Venezuela.
“Chile reaffirms its commitment to basic principles of International Law, such as the prohibition of the use of force, non-intervention, the peaceful settlement of international disputes, and the territorial integrity of States,” Font wrote on X. “The Venezuelan crisis must be resolved through dialogue and the support of multilateralism, and not through violence or foreign interference.”
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