Madrid (EFE).- Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado called from Spain on Friday for the displacement of the Venezuelan regime, represented by interim president Delcy Rodríguez.
Machado, currently on a European tour, spent the first day of her official agenda in Madrid in intense meetings with conservative leaders, and stated several times that despite the transition initiated in Venezuela, the «criminal structure» that dominated the country for the last 27 years remains present.
«This criminal structure must be displaced from power, and for that (…) we require our genuine allies from all over the world, because the fight for freedom is universal,» the Venezuelan politician said from the headquarters of Spain’s conservative Popular Party (PP), where she met with its leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo.
Machado emphasized that the freedom of Venezuelans can only be achieved «through the vote in elections in which all Venezuelans who are abroad can also vote,» and urged for a date to be set as soon as possible.
To date, Venezuelan authorities have sidelined the electoral issue, prioritizing the economy instead.
On Mar. 2, the President of the Parliament, Jorge Rodríguez, indicated that defining an election date was not «a matter of urgency.»
According to Machado, the actions being undertaken by the Rodríguez government, in office since the United States capture of former president Nicolás Maduro (2013-2026) in Jan., are «not being done voluntarily.»
«They are following instructions, responding to that survival instinct which is the essence of every criminal structure,» she added during her first live interview in Spain, granted to ‘El programa de Ana Rosa’.
She believes Washington’s commitment to democratizing Caracas is «genuine and very conscious,» and that the US is in the first of three phases for Venezuela: ensuring rule of law for elections and the return of major foreign investments.
The Venezuelan opposition leader also met with the head of the far-right Vox party, Santiago Abascal, whom she included in her list of «great friends.»
Later she received the Golden Key of the City of Madrid from mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida (PP).
No meetings with the Spanish government
In contrast to the camaraderie shown with conservatives, Machado was distant and critical of Prime Minister’s Pedro Sánchez government, whom she chastised for supporting the lifting of sanctions against Venezuela.
«If Delcy Rodríguez has precisely begun to take actions that allow for a certain opening, it is because she is under pressure and force. (…) If that supervision and monitoring is removed, they will return to their previous practices of increased repression,» she stated on television.
Machado explained that a meeting with Sánchez is «not scheduled» during her visit to Spain due to several factors, implying, among other things, that the invitation had not been extended.
Shortly after, Sánchez said he would be «delighted» to meet with her, but suggested the Nobel Peace Prize laureate had declined the proposal.
«She considered it was not opportune» to hold that meeting, Sánchez declared during an appearance with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Barcelona (northeast), from where he conveyed to Machado that «the doors of the Palacio de la Moncloa are open» should she change her mind. EFE
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