International observers widely consider Edmundo González, the Machado-backed presidential candidate, the winner of Venezuela’s 2024 elections, though Machado herself was barred from running. In Santiago, Chile, Machado nevertheless argued that the Trump administration remains a “fundamental ally” for Venezuela’s democratic transition, even as the United States has backed Delcy Rodríguez as Venezuela’s legitimate president.
Machado spoke after a diplomatic shift: a week before her comments, the United States and Venezuela announced the restoration of diplomatic and consular relations. She also referenced recent public praise by U.S. President Donald Trump for Rodríguez, saying he complimented Rodríguez for “doing a great job, and working with U.S. Representatives very well.” Machado tied that posture to what she described as an actionable path forward for Venezuela.
In her remarks, Machado acknowledged what she called “complex processes” ahead but said the U.S. government would remain central to those steps. She described a plan she said Trump has set out, saying it includes “three phases” that begin with stabilization and proceed through recovery to a democratic transition.
Machado’s comments came against the backdrop of last year’s U.S.-Venezuela rupture and the subsequent change in relations. She told reporters the United States is the “only nation in the world that has risked the lives of its citizens to secure freedom in Venezuela,” referring to a January U.S. military operation aimed at capturing then-President Nicolás Maduro.
She also used the Chile stop of her trip to address the displacement crisis affecting Venezuelans across the region. “Nearly 700,000 Venezuelans live in this country,” Machado said, calling them “decent people” who were “forced to flee their homeland to save their lives.” She said the gathering in Chile was aimed at asking Chileans and Latin Americans to help ensure “every Venezuelan can return with dignity and freedom to the country they adore and that desperately needs them.”
Machado traveled to Chile to attend the inauguration of José Antonio Kast, a far-right president whose swearing-in had taken place the day before her remarks. After that ceremony, Kast pledged to criminalize irregular immigration and expel nearly 330,000 foreigners living illegally in Chile, with a majority of those people described as Venezuelan.
Despite those hard-line policies, Machado said she was “very grateful to President Kast,” adding that “every country has the right — indeed, the duty — to guarantee its own security.” She spoke ahead of a planned meeting with the Venezuelan diaspora in Chile, framing her outreach as part of a broader effort to press for what she described as a democratic transition in Venezuela.
The remarks also reflected Machado’s position in the opposition’s electoral landscape. International observers widely consider Edmundo González—the presidential candidate backed by Machado—as the winner of the 2024 elections, even as the opposition figure was kept from running. Machado’s remarks thus combined an insistence on U.S. partnership with a continuing focus on the opposition road map she said Washington is supporting.