Topline
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado met President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, weeks after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a stunning raid that effectively toppled his regime.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado arrives at a security gate at the White House ahead of a meeting with US President Donald Trump, in Washington, DC on January 15, 2026. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
Machado told supporters gathered outside the White House after the meeting, “know that we can count on President Trump for Venezuela’s freedom,” The New York Times reported, noting she did not speak to reporters.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, moments after the meeting began, that Trump was “expecting it to be a good and positive discussion” about “the realities on the ground in the country and what is taking place,” calling Machado “a really remarkable and brave voice for many of the people of Venezuela.”
Machado has said she wants to become Venezuela’s new leader after Maduro’s ouster, but Trump has refused to support her, telling reporters earlier this month “she’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect.”
The Trump administration has said it is working closely with Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, who was appointed interim president after Maduro’s capture, with Trump describing the partnership in glowing terms in a social media post Wednesday, shortly after he spoke with her by phone, calling her a “terrific person.”
Machado has sought to align herself with Trump by offering him her Nobel peace prize she won in October, as Trump, for years, has repeatedly expressed his desire to win the award, though the Norwegian Nobel Committee and Norwegian Nobel Institute said recently Machado can’t give away her prize.
Crucial Quote
“This morning I had a very good call with the Interim President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez. We are making tremendous progress, as we help Venezuela stabilize and recover. Many topics were discussed, including Oil, Minerals, Trade and, of course, National Security. This partnership between the United States of America and Venezuela will be a spectacular one FOR ALL. Venezuela will soon be great and prosperous again, perhaps more so than ever before!” Trump wrote Wednesday on Truth Social.
Tangent
Maduro’s regime barred Machado from running against him in the July 2024 election and her party ran Edmundo González as its candidate instead. The country’s election officials, primarily Maduro loyalists, declared Maduro the winner and refused to release vote tallies, while the opposition claimed González won twice as many votes as Maduro. The U.S. formally recognized González as the true winner of the election in November 2024. Machado had been in hiding in Venezuela since the election before making her first public appearance in more than a year in December to accept the Nobel peace prize.
Key Background
The Trump administration captured Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in an overnight raid of his compound in Caracas on Jan. 3 and flew them to New York to face narco-terrorism charges. They both pleaded not guilty. The Trump administration has claimed the move was justified because Maduro was a fugitive of the U.S. for the charges initially brought against him in 2020, though experts widely believe it was a violation of an array of international laws, including using force without authorization from the United Nations or a verified claim of self-defense. Some lawmakers have also raised concerns the actions were taken without necessary approval from Congress. In the wake of his capture, Trump has said he would take control of Venezuela and the country’s oil industry, though the extent to which he has the authority or ability to do so is unclear. Hours before Machado arrived at the White House, the U.S. military seized a sixth oil tanker it said was in violation of its quarantine on sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean. The tanker, Veronica, was recently renamed as the Galileo and registered under a Russian firm, according to the Wall Street Journal, which reported it had been sanctioned for transporting weapons from Iran for the Russian government.
Further Reading
Maduro Arrives In U.S. After Capture (Forbes)
Trump Says Venezuela Will Provide U.S. With 30 Million To 50 Million Oil Barrels Following Maduro Capture (Forbes)
Bessent Admits Major Oil Companies Aren’t Interested In Venezuela (Forbes)