The Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, will receive the Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado this Wednesday at the headquarters of the State Department, two weeks after the leader met with President Donald Trump and presented her with her Nobel Peace Prize medal.
According to Rubio’s official agenda, the meeting will take place behind closed doors at 1:00 p.m. local time in Washington.The meeting will take place after the head of US diplomacy reports to the Senate on the Trump Government’s policy towards Venezuela, a hearing scheduled for 10:00 local time.
Machado has been in the US capital since January 15, when he met with Trump at the White House to discuss the situation in Venezuela after the US attack on January 3.That operation led to the overthrow and arrest of dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, CiliaFlores.The couple was transferred to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges issued by the United States, charges they deny.
Trump maintained that he maintains a very good relationship with the government of interim president Delcy Rodríguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president and assumed power after the capture of the Chavista leader.According to the Republican president, the United States protects Venezuela and reached oil agreements, in addition to obtaining the release of several political prisoners.
Although the White House initially left Machado out of the transition process, Trump expressed his desire to also “involve” the opponent in the future of Venezuela after meeting with her.
Before meeting Machado, Rubio will appear for the first time before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to detail the Trump Administration’s plan with Venezuela after the capture of Maduro.
According to Bloomberg and the AFP agency, the Secretary of State’s speech includes warnings about Washington’s next steps.In that message, Rubio will warn that Trump does not rule out the use of force if the interim government headed by Rodríguez does not cooperate with the United States.
“We will closely monitor the performance of the interim authorities as they cooperate with our phased plan to restore stability in Venezuela. Let there be no doubt: as the president has stated, we are prepared to use force to ensure maximum cooperation if other methods fail,” the official said in the speech broadcast by Bloomberg and AFP.
According to Rubio, Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s vice president who assumed power after the fall of the Chavista leader, expressed her intention to cooperate with the United States.The Secretary of State will point out that the leader promised to open Venezuela’s energy sector to American companies and to end shipments of crude oil to Cuba.
“Rodríguez is fully aware of Maduro’s fate; we believe that his own personal interest coincides with the advancement of our objectives,” Rubio will express, according to the text published by the aforementioned media.
(With information from EFE)
