Venezuela’s Machado says she hasn’t spoken to Trump since October

The absorption person tells Fox News she is ‘grateful’ for Trump’s ‘courageous vision’ aft Maduro’s abduction.

Venezuela’s absorption leader, Maria Corina Machado, says she has not spoken to United States President Donald Trump since October past year, adjacent arsenic she fulsomely lauds his administration’s brazen subject actions successful Venezuela.

In a little interrogation with Sean Hannity connected the Hannity ​programme by Fox News, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner said she wants to “personally” convey the president for the abduction of Venezuelan person Nicolas Maduro.

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“I spoke with Trump connected October 10, the aforesaid time the prize was announced. Not since then,” Machado said. “But I bash privation to accidental – connected behalf of the Venezuelan radical – however grateful we are for his courageous vision, the humanities actions helium has taken against this narcoterrorist regime, to dismantle this operation and bring Maduro to justice.”

The right-wing politician’s comments came aft Trump told reporters connected Sunday that Machado “doesn’t person the respect” to pb Venezuela oregon the enactment of the people.

Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuela’s erstwhile vice president, has since been sworn in to pb the state connected an interim basis.

“I deliberation it would beryllium precise pugnacious for her to beryllium the leader,” Trump said of Machado. “She doesn’t person the enactment oregon the respect wrong the country. She’s a precise bully woman, but she doesn’t person the respect.”

In 2023, Machado declared victory successful the Venezuelan opposition’s statesmanlike superior aft receiving 93 percent of the vote. But she was barred from running, forcing her to spell into hiding for much than a twelvemonth earlier defying a question ban to judge the Nobel Peace Prize successful Norway.

Machado left the capital, Oslo, successful December, but her existent whereabouts are unknown.

The absorption person told Hannity she plans to instrumentality to Venezuela “as soon arsenic possible”.

‘A immense measurement for humanity’

Machado, a hard right-winger who has aligned herself with hawks successful the Trump administration, stirred planetary controversy erstwhile she archetypal dedicated her prize to Trump successful October.

Trump had coveted the Nobel Peace Prize for months, publically campaigning that helium had “ended 7 wars”.

“I dedicated it to President Trump due to the fact that I believed, astatine that time, that helium deserved it,” Machado told Hannity. Now, aft deposing Maduro, “he has proven to the satellite what helium means”.

“It’s not lone immense for the Venezuelan radical and their aboriginal … it’s a immense measurement for humanity, for freedom, and quality dignity,” she added.

The White House indicated connected Sunday that it was not seeking authorities alteration successful Venezuela, but alternatively a docile authorities that volition let US companies to exploit the country’s immense lipid reserves.

Trump had antecedently said helium would “run” Venezuela arsenic “very ample United States lipid companies” tapped its resources.

Machado seemed to invited this idea, telling Hannity that Venezuela would alteration into an “energy hub” for the US.

“We volition bring regularisation of law, we volition unfastened markets, we volition bring information for investments,” Machado said.

The abduction of Maduro was an onslaught by the US that skirted not lone planetary instrumentality but besides US governmental limits, assorted international experts and analysts person said.

It is portion of the US’s “new imperialistic era” centred connected lipid and strategical interests and risks normalising akin actions by different powers, Sultan Barakat, elder prof astatine the College of Public Policy astatine Qatar’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University, told Al Jazeera.

Trump is “bypassing … planetary law. He’s bypassing Venezuelan instrumentality … and helium doesn’t look to springiness a damn astir what the radical of Venezuela truly deliberation oregon want,” Barakat said.

Trump-era policies and rhetoric person “mutated” US authorities arsenic nationalism has intensified and Christianity has go much entwined with governance – trends that volition distort the existing planetary order, helium added.