María Corina Machado at the Heritage Foundation: 'Venezuela will be free with the support of the US and President Donald Trump'

María Corina Machado, Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, offered a conference and press conference this Friday at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. after meeting with President Donald Trump on Thursday. 

"As Venezuelans we are absolutely grateful to President Trump, his team, his Administration and the people of the United States because it took a lot of courage to do what he did, and he did it on behalf of the American people, but also because he cares for the people of Venezuela. And he told me that yesterday. And I think that is the most important message I can bring back to my country," she said.

The opposition leader also affirmed that she is confident that the remnants of what she described as a "criminal regime" would finally be dismantled in Venezuela and that there would be an orderly transition to free elections.

"I am profoundly confident that we will have an orderly transition," Machado said. "We face a very complex and delicate process," she added, alluding to the current government, and assured that in the end Venezuela will be free with the support of the United States and Trump.

"The only thing I want to assure the Venezuelan people is that Venezuela is going o be free, and that’s going to be achieved with the support of the people of the United States and the president, Donald Trump," she said at a press conference in Washington.

The dream of living in a free country

Machado also reflected on the determination of Venezuelans, highlighting the sacrifices many have made in the search for democratic freedoms. Speaking of the younger generations who have grown up in the midst of political and social turmoil, she underscored their unwavering commitment to a better future.

"I am very proud to be part of these generations of Venezuelans. Most of them have never known what it means to live in freedom or what it means to be part of democratic society, but they have risked their lives, their loved ones, everything they have, because they share that dream to live in a free country," said the Venezuelan opposition leader.

Delcy Rodríguez is acting under "orders"

Venezuela has already started "a real transition to democracy" with the help of President Donald Trump, who is giving "orders" to interim President Delcy Rodriguez, the opposition leader declared on Friday.

"She is not in agreement of her own free will" and is rather "following orders," AFP quoted Machado as saying, alluding to the attack with which the United States overthrew former dictator Nicolas Maduro, now detained in New York.

"This has nothing to do with any tension or decision between Delcy Rodriguez and myself. This is about the cartel and justice," she added.

A "wonderful gesture"

The opposition leader, who had remained in hiding in Venezuela and left the country in December with U.S. support to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, chose to present the medal to Trump on Thursday with a special dedication, a gesture the president described as "wonderful."

Maria Corina Machado's visit to Washington came almost two weeks after a U.S. military operation in Caracas, in which Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were arrested and transferred to New York to face charges related to narcoterrorism.