House members have reportedly thrown their support behind Maria Corina Machado even though US President Donald Trump has downplayed her chances of serving as a potential national leader
U.S. lawmakers have backed Venezuelan opposition figure Maria Corina Machado as a possible leader of the nation in the wake of President Nicolas Maduro’s abduction, the New York Times has reported.
Members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee gave Machado their unanimous endorsement following a private meeting with her on Capitol Hill, the paper said on Wednesday.
Machado, a former congresswoman with decades of close ties to Washington, has previously led anti-government protests and accused Maduro of “illegally” seizing power during the 2024 elections. She was barred from holding public office after Venezuelan authorities accused her of supporting foreign sanctions and calling for U.S. military intervention.
U.S. Representative Michael McCaul of Texas said Machado had “all the right stuff” to become the country’s next president, according to the NYT.
“Now, the next step, obviously: free and fair elections,” McCaul, a former committee chairman, said, adding, “We look forward to working with her.”
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, a Florida Republican, said the U.S. would have a role to play when Venezuela next holds elections, citing the “huge” stakes for a country he described as being “in our backyard.”
Machado fully supported the U.S. intervention in Venezuela and the kidnapping of Maduro in early January.
In December, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for what the committee called her struggle to achieve a “just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.” Machado gave the medal to Trump last month.
Machado has claimed the “escalation” in Venezuela was the only way to get Maduro to realize “it’s time to go,” but stressed it was “not regime change” and amounted to enforcing “the will of the Venezuelan people.”
Trump has consistently dismissed Machado’s ability to replace Maduro as a potential new leader of the oil-rich Latin American country, saying shortly after the U.S. military raid that she “doesn’t have the support or the respect within the country.”
Russia has condemned the U.S. military action in Venezuela as a violation of international law and reaffirmed its support for the South American nation’s sovereignty.