Rubio says US negotiated Machado's return with Delcy Rodríguez
Washington says it held direct talks with Venezuela's interim government. The opposition leader is ready to meet Rodríguez, and the stated goal is elections.
Archive image · Photo: U.S. Department of State / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that the Trump administration held direct talks with Venezuela's interim authorities led by Delcy Rodríguez to secure the return of opposition leader María Corina Machado. He said Washington had asked weeks ago that she be allowed back without obstacles or reprisals. "Our goal here is to have elections," Rubio told reporters on a phone call, according to AP.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate returned on Sunday after nearly a year in exile and was greeted by thousands of supporters. Her spokesperson Claudia Macero told Unión Radio that Machado was willing to meet Rodríguez and anyone else necessary, "with full transparency and with an agenda." Trump said on Sunday he thought Machado was "a very nice woman."
The interim authorities and opposition groups agreed last week on a roadmap for electoral reforms aimed at elections in 2027, but no presidential election date has been set. The EU welcomed her return and called for an inclusive, Venezuelan-led dialogue leading to "free and fair elections."