President Donald Trump reportedly soured on Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado because she accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, which he has long wanted for himself, according to a new report.
One person close to the White House told The Washington Post that Machado's acceptance of the award was the "ultimate sin" for Trump. "If she had turned it down and said, 'I can't accept it because it's Donald Trump's,' she'd be the president of Venezuela today," the person added.
Machado reacted after authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro's capture on Saturday, calling for a new order to take place in the country and saying the Trump administration "fulfilled its promise to uphold the law."
"It is time for Popular Sovereignty and National Sovereignty to rule in our country. We will restore order, release political prisoners, build an exceptional country and bring our sons back home," Machado claimed.
She went on to say that "what had to happen is happening" and Edmundo Gonzalez, her candidate in the 2024 elections in which the regime claimed victory without showing the supporting documentation, must "immediately assume his constitutional mandate and be recognized as Commander-in-Chief of the National Armed Force by all officers and soldiers that are part of it."
However, the Trump administration has said it will work with the country's interim leader, Delcy Rodriguez. She has called on the United States to "work jointly on a cooperation agenda" and appealed for peace and dialogue in a recent address.
In a message published Sunday on her official social media channels, Rodríguez said Venezuela's priority was to pursue "balanced and respectful international relations" with the United States and other countries in the region, based on "sovereign equality and non-interference." She said the government was prepared to collaborate with Washington on an agenda "oriented toward shared development, within the framework of international law."
Rodríguez's statement came a day after Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered her to assume the presidency on an interim basis following the capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia flores.
Her call for cooperation also followed sharp warnings from Washington earlier on Sunday. Trump said in an interview with The Atlantic that Rodríguez would "pay a very high price, probably higher than Maduro," if she failed to act in line with U.S. expectations. He later said she was "willing to do what we consider necessary," but stressed that U.S. pressure would continue if American interests were not respected.
Rubio also said calls for immediate elections were premature, arguing that "there is still much work to be done." While praising opposition figures, including María Corina Machado, he said the "immediate reality" was that much of the opposition leadership was no longer inside Venezuela, requiring short-term arrangements to stabilize the country.
The European Union, however, has opposed the decision, saying that Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez, the candidate who claimed victory in the 2024 elections, should be the ones leading a transition.
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