US involvement in Venezuela could last years, Trump says
Trump told the NYT that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was "in constant communication" with Rodríguez, who was designated as Venezuela's interim leader by the country's Supreme Court, which is dominated by Maduro loyalists. He added that Rodríguez is "giving us everything that we feel is necessary."The US president had earlier said that the interim government had agreed to use the proceeds from the sale of its oil to buy only US-made goods.According to the NYT reporters, Trump did not answer their questions about why he recognised Rodríguez as Venezuela's new leader.Many Venezuela analysts had expected that the ouster of Maduro would be followed swiftly by the return to the country of opposition leaders Edmundo González and María Corina Machado.But in his first news conference following the US raid, Trump was dismissive about Machado, alleging that she lacked the "respect" and support to lead Venezuela. "I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader," he said. Machado managed to unite opposition groups behind her ahead of the 2024 presidential election but was barred from running for the presidency by officials loyal to the Maduro government.She then threw her weight behind former diplomat González, who acted as her proxy.The electoral council, which is also dominated by government loyalists, declared Maduro re-elected. However, voting tallies collected by the opposition, which have been independently verified, suggest González won by a landslide. González went into exile to escape the government repression that followed the election, and Machado went into hiding within Venezuela.She embarked on a perilous journey by land, sea and air to reach Oslo in December to collect the Nobel Peace Prize she was awarded for her "tireless work promoting democratic rights" in Venezuela.Her current whereabouts are unknown but she has said that she plans to return to Venezuela soon.
