WORKING WITH THE VP
Trump said that the United States had not been in touch with Machado, who had hailed the operation as the “hour of freedom.”
Instead, Trump said Rubio spoke by telephone to the vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, a stalwart of the leftist movement of Maduro and his late predecessor, Hugo Chavez.
“She’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again. Very simple,” Trump said.
Rodriguez, however, did not stick to Trump’s script in an address to the nation, saying Maduro was the only president and demanding his return.
Most US allies, who had once lined up to oppose Maduro, quickly distanced themselves from Trump.
French President Emmanuel Macron, while hailing the end of “Maduro’s dictatorship,” said the will of Venezuelans was represented by Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, the opposition figure and Machado ally seen by the international community as the legitimate winner of the 2024 elections.
Kevin Whitaker, a veteran former US diplomat dealing with Latin America, including Venezuela, said he was “extremely surprised” to hear Trump undercut Machado.
“This seems to be a case where the Trump administration, at least by appearance at this point, is making decisions about the democratic future of Venezuela without referring back to the democratic result” of the election, said Whitaker, now at the Atlantic Council think tank.