Maria Corina Machado told reporters in Washington she believes the "criminal regime" in Venezuela will ultimately collapse and that the country will see an orderly transition to free elections. The remarks followed her meeting with President Donald Trump, during which she presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal. The U.S. has signaled short-term support for interim leader Delcy Rodriguez while diplomatic contacts, including a visit by CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Caracas, underscore competing influences on Venezuela's transition. Machado emphasized the process will be complex and time-consuming.
Machado Predicts Orderly Transition to Free Elections After Meeting With Trump
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado speaks during a press conference in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 16, 2026. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
WASHINGTON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Friday she is confident the remnants of what she called a "criminal regime" will eventually be dismantled and that Venezuela will undergo an orderly transition to free elections.
Meeting With Trump
Machado made the remarks in Washington a day after meeting President Donald Trump, during which she presented him with her Nobel Peace Prize medal as part of an effort to persuade the U.S. to give the opposition a role in shaping Venezuela's future following the U.S.-backed removal of longtime leader Nicolas Maduro.
Political Context And U.S. Response
She acknowledged that, for now, the Trump administration has backed former Maduro loyalists, led by interim President Delcy Rodriguez, to run the OPEC nation instead of installing her movement — which many observers and opposition supporters viewed as the true winner of a disputed 2024 vote that Maduro was accused of rigging.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado speaks at a press conference in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 16, 2026. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
"I am profoundly, profoundly confident that we will have an orderly transition (to elections)," Machado told reporters at a news conference at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank with close ties to the Trump administration. She emphasized the process will be delicate, complex and take time.
"This has nothing to do with tension or relations between Delcy Rodriguez and myself," Machado said, adding that a long-standing "criminal structure" that has dominated Venezuelan politics would ultimately dismantle itself, though she did not provide specifics on how that would occur.
Diplomatic Moves And Reactions
Coinciding with Machado's White House visit, CIA Director John Ratcliffe flew to Caracas and met Rodriguez — the highest-level known U.S. contact in Venezuela since Maduro's ouster and another sign of both sides vying for the Trump administration's favor.
Throughout her visit Machado praised Trump and largely avoided direct criticism of his post-Maduro approach, an approach that has frustrated many within Venezuela's broader opposition. In the Oval Office she handed her Nobel medal to Trump, saying he deserved recognition for what she called his commitment to the freedom of the Venezuelan people.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado arrives for a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 15, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper
The Norwegian Nobel Institute has publicly stated that the prize cannot be transferred, shared or revoked.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had looked forward to meeting Machado but reiterated his "realistic" view that she does not currently have the necessary support to lead Venezuela in the short term. Maduro was taken to New York to face prosecution on "narco-trafficking" charges.
What This Means
Machado's visit highlights the political tug-of-war over Venezuela's immediate future: a tension between short-term stability and longer-term democratic restoration. Her optimism about an orderly electoral transition will be closely watched by Venezuelans, regional governments and international observers as the situation continues to evolve.
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