Machado peppers Trump with flattery after being overlooked to take over after Maduro capture

After Trump voiced doubts about her capability to lead Venezuela, Machado took to one of his favorite cable news shows this week to herald the president, telling host Sean Hannity on Fox News’s Hannity that she is grateful for “his courageous vision, the actions, historical actions he has taken against this narco-terrorist regime to start dismantling this structure, and bringing Maduro to justice.” 

The White House has thus far allowed Rodríguez, a longtime Maduro insider, to remain at the helm of the government, apparently due to the CIA’s recommendation that continuity would provide stability and stave off the need for a U.S. military presence, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Trump’s ire that Machado was awarded the Nobel Prize last year instead of him could also explain why he declined to back her to lead Venezuela, according to the Washington Post. However, the president called her a “very nice” person after she won the prize and dedicated it in honor of Trump, saying he deserved it. 

A more likely explanation could center on the Trump administration’s concerns that Machado lacks the robust leadership necessary to lead Venezuela after decades of decline. As they planned for Maduro’s ouster and a tentative transition period to a democratic governance for Venenzuela over the past year, Trump’s team repeatedly expressed frustration that Machado appeared to lack the will to meaningfully collaborate with the White House on the path forward, or provide details for how to transition the country out of the dictator’s shadow, according to the New York Times.

For now, Rodríguez remains in power. However, she remains in a precarious position with the Trump administration, as the president has warned her that she will fare “worse” than Maduro if she refuses to comply with Washington’s reforms. 

Should Rodríguez falter, Machado would likely be seen internationally as the most natural democratic successor to Maduro, who has been accused by the U.S. and other countries for years of spearheading sham elections. Before he was ousted by U.S. military forces over the weekend, Maduro had not relinquished power since 2013. 

As speculation lingers over whether the presidential role for her might still be in the running for her, Machado on Monday reiterated her support for the Trump administration, saying Jan. 3, the day U.S. forces took out Maduro, “will go down in history as the day justice defeated tyranny.”

“It’s a milestone, and it’s not only huge for the Venezuelan people and our future, I think it’s a huge step for humanity, for freedom, and human dignity,” she told Hannity. 

Machado secured a sweeping victory in an October 2023 primary election, setting herself up to challenge Maduro in the following year’s general election. 

After being barred by the Maduro regime from running in the 2024 presidential election, Machado endorsed the lesser-known Edmundo González to run in her place against Maduro. However, Maduro declared himself the winner in that election as well, despite concerns from a host of countries that the supposed win was illegitimate. 

Machado called for González, the “legitimate President of Venezuela,” to “immediately” assume power after Maduro was captured last week. 

“This is the hour of the citizens. Those of us who risked everything for democracy on June 28th. Those of us who elected Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as the legitimate President of Venezuela, who must immediately assume his constitutional mandate and be recognized as Commander-in-Chief of the National Armed Forces by all the officers and soldiers who comprise it,” she said. 

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Machado echoed the Trump administration’s hopes for Venezuela’s future, saying she hopes the country can surge as a global “energy hub.” Venezuela holds the most oil reserves of any country in the world. 

“A free Venezuela means, first, a security ally, dismantling the criminal hub of the Americas and turning it into a security shield, the strongest ally to dismantle all these criminal structures that have made so much damage and harm to our people and to the American people as well,” she said.  “Secondly, we will turn Venezuela into the energy hub of the Americas. We will bring rule of law. We will open markets. We will give security to foreign investment. Third, we’ll bring millions of Venezuelans that have been forced to flee their country back home, to build a strong nation, prosperous nation, open society. We will [leave] behind all the destruction this socialist regime, criminal regime, has brought to our people and turn Venezuela into the main ally of the United States in Latin America.”