Venezuela’s Machado says transition to unfold in several phases, aim is pro-US society

WASHINGTON

Venezuelan opposition figure Maria Corina Machado said on Friday that the country’s transition would involve “several phases,” with the eventual outcome to be a society that is “profoundly pro-America.”

“This is a process that has several phases. We are in one that is complex … in which the regime is forced to dismantle some of the structures that have been maintaining them in power, starting with the repression system,” Machado said at a news conference in Washington, DC.

Speaking a day after she was received by US President Donald Trump at the White House, where she presented him her Nobel Peace Prize, Machado said dismantling “repression” must include the unconditional release of political prisoners and the restoration of basic freedoms, noting that many former detainees remain under travel bans and face ongoing intimidation.

“The result of this hard process will be a society based on these values, a society that is profoundly pro-America,” she said,” she said.

Machado also criticized Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, saying, “She’s a communist. She’s the main ally and representation of the Russian regime, the Chinese and Iranians, but that’s not the Venezuelan people, and that’s not the armed forces, as well.”

Rodriguez was sworn in as acting president of Venezuela following a US military operation on Jan. 3 that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his Cilia Flores. Maduro and Flores were subsequently taken to New York, where they are standing trial on guns and weapons charges.

“I am profoundly, profoundly confident that we will have an orderly transition. This is a complex phase we are right now. Some of the dirty work is being done by them,” Machado said

“But then the result of a stable transition will be a proud Venezuela who is going to be the best ally the United States has ever had in the Americas.”

On her Thursday meeting with Trump, Machado said she was “very impressed” by the degree of information he had on Venezuela, and how closely he followed developments. “He's concerned about the wellbeing of our people. Certainly, we did talk about political prisoners, and their families, and the importance to stop repression.”