Trump's lack of support for María Corina Machado stems from the opposition leader's decision to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, two sources close to the White House told The Washington Post. For Trump, it was "the ultimate sin," according to one of them.
If she had refused and said, "I can't accept it, it's Donald Trump's price," she would have been the president of Venezuela today, the source says.
Shortly after Nicolás Maduro was captured by US forces in Caracas on Saturday, Trump claimed that it would be "very difficult" for Machado to lead Venezuela.
She doesn't have enough support, he said, continuing:
She is a nice woman, but she is not respected.
According to a person close to Machado's team, her employees were taken aback by Trump's comments, The Washington Post writes.
On Monday, the EU is demanding that both María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia, who, according to many international observers, was the rightful winner of Venezuela's 2024 election, be included in a political transition process in the country.
