WASHINGTON,(AFP): Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Monday she plans to return to Venezuela “as soon as possible,” sharply rejecting the interim leadership in Caracas and reaffirming her confidence in an opposition landslide in any free election.
Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity from an undisclosed location, Machado made her first public remarks since a weekend social media post following the reported removal of President Nicolas Maduro by US military forces.“I’m planning to go back to Venezuela as soon as possible,” she said. Machado dismissed interim President Delcy Rodriguez, accusing her of being “one of the main architects of torture, persecution, corruption and narcotrafficking.”Rodriguez previously served as Maduro’s vice president and has indicated a willingness to cooperate with Washington.
According to Machado, Rodriguez lacks public legitimacy. “She is rejected by the Venezuelan people,” Machado said, adding that the opposition enjoys overwhelming popular support.“In free and fair elections, we will win with more than 90 percent of the vote,” she said.
Machado pledged to dismantle criminal networks, revive the economy and transform Venezuela into “the energy hub of the Americas,” while also promising to facilitate the return of millions of Venezuelans who fled the country during years of political and economic turmoil.
Despite her prominence, former US President Donald Trump has downplayed the prospect of Machado assuming power, arguing that she lacks sufficient backing.
Machado was barred from contesting the 2024 presidential election but maintains that her ally, opposition candidate Edmundo González, holds a democratic mandate after what the opposition and some international observers describe as a decisive electoral victory.
