Politics
CIA chief visits Maduro successor as Machado vows to become Venezuela’s president
John Ratcliffe meets Delcy Rodríguez in Caracas less than two weeks after his agents helped to oust her precedessor
The CIA chief whose agents reputedly played a key role in abducting Nicolás Maduro has flown to Venezuela to meet his successor as the sidelined opposition leader, María Corina Machado, vowed she would become the country’s first elected female president.
Machado’s comments were broadcast on Friday, a day after she handed her Nobel peace prize medal to Donald Trump in recognition of what she called a principled and decisive move against Maduro, whom US special forces snatched on 3 January.
The conservative politician predicted freedom was coming to her South American homeland after years of economic mayhem and authoritarianism under Maduro. “And I believe I will be elected, when the right time comes, as president of Venezuela – the first woman president of Venezuela,” she told Fox News.
Despite Machado’s bullishness, experts say Trump has marginalised her opposition movement since his pre-dawn assault on Caracas momentarily ignited hopes of imminent democratic change.
Rather than seeking to install Machado, whose opposition movement is widely believed to have beaten Maduro in the 2024 presidential election, Trump gave his blessing to Maduro’s vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, calling her a “terrific person”. Rodríguez is governing as acting president with support from other key Maduro allies, including the feared interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, and has vowed to improve ties with the US.
“I’m sure the opposition is biting their tongue because this is just brutal for them,” said Eva Golinger, a US lawyer who advised Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez. “They’re sidelined … They have no role in what’s going on. They’re out of the game for now.”
Trump’s decision to back Rodríguez was reportedly based partly on personal animosity towards Machado and partly on CIA advice that she would be incapable of preventing a dangerous security breakdown by bringing the military and armed pro-regime paramilitary groups under control.
Trump officials have been open about their decision to strike a deal with Maduro’s closest allies, many of whom have been implicated in serious human rights violations.
“We need to work with the people that have the guns today to ultimately move the country to a representative government and a better station. But what you’ve got to prevent in the meantime is a collapse of the nation,” the US energy secretary, Chris Wright, told CBS News on Sunday.
But she doubted the move would work, noting how Rodríguez’s administration was already complying with one of Trump’s key demands – opening up Venezuela’s vast oil reserves to US companies. The first US deportation flight since Maduro’s capture landed in Caracas on Friday carrying 199 Venezuelans.
“Delcy is giving him everything he wants. He has no reason to disrupt the situation – and he’s certainly not going to let María Corina Machado come in and try to shake things up,” Golinger said.
“I’m sure he sees her as weak. She’s come [to Washington] and grovelled and handed over her Nobel peace prize … and she went out the back door … I would put money on the fact that should Delcy come to the White House, she will get a formal reception.”
Imdat Oner, a former Turkish diplomat in Venezuela who is a fellow at Florida International University’s Jack D Gordon institute for public policy, also doubted Machado’s gift would change Trump’s mind.
Source: TheGuardian
