Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was captured and deported from the country after the US attack on Caracas. Who will take power in the country? The United States recognizes exiled Edmund Gonzalez as the legitimate president of Venezuela, supported by 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, CNN notes.
The time of freedom has come for Venezuela, the presidency should be taken by the winner of the last elections, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, wrote the leader of the Venezuelan opposition, Maria Corina Machado, on Saturday.
Donald Trump, asked on Saturday whether he wanted opposition leader Maria Corina Machado to take over, replied “we'll have to see,” noting that the country still has a vice president (Delcy Rodriguez).
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said U.S. operations in Venezuela ended after Maduro's capture. Vice President of Venezuela Delcy Rodríguez is a member of the socialist regime that took power in the country in 1999.
Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States will be very committed to further developments in Venezuela and that he wants to give Venezuelans freedom. He assured that he would not allow Nicolas Maduro to be replaced by someone who would continue his policies.
“We want to ensure freedom for the people with whom we want to have good relations. I think Venezuelans are very, very happy because they love the United States,” Trump said.
Trump said that Nicolas Maduro, captured by US forces, is currently on the USS Iwo Jima landing ship and is heading to New York to face drug-related charges.
Who is Maria Corina Machado?
Maria Corina Machado is the leader of the Venezuelan opposition. For years, it has experienced repression from the regime of Nicolas Maduro. Despite the increasing persecution, Machado decided to stay in the country to fight for democracy.
In 2023, Machado won an overwhelming victory in the democratic primaries, but the Maduro government prevented her from running in the 2024 presidential elections.
When the regime blocked her candidacy in the 2024 presidential elections, she supported another opposition leader, Edmund Gonzalez Urrutia.
The 2024 presidential election was widely considered fraudulent. Although the official results indicated Maduro's victory, they were not recognized by the opposition and many foreign governments. Opposition figures suggest Gonzalez won a large majority of the vote.
