In a recent statement, President Trump expressed skepticism about Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado’s potential to lead the nation, following the U.S. military’s apprehension of President Nicolás Maduro. Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago estate shortly after the event, Trump remarked, “It would be very challenging for her to become the leader,” citing a perceived lack of widespread support and respect for Machado within Venezuela.

Trump revealed that his administration did not engage with Machado regarding the operation or her potential leadership role. Instead, he indicated support for Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez as Maduro’s successor, claiming she was inaugurated as the new president. Trump assured that he would collaborate with Rodríguez as the U.S. oversees Venezuela during the transition to a peaceful power handover.

“I just spoke with her, and she is prepared to do whatever is necessary to restore Venezuela’s greatness,” Trump stated, highlighting the straightforward nature of their discussion.

However, Rodríguez countered Trump’s assertions, emphasizing in a televised address that Maduro remains the “only president” of Venezuela.

Rodríguez later dismissed Trump’s remarks, saying in a televised speech that Maduro is the country’s “only president.“

Machado said the “hour of freedom has arrived” in the hours following Maduro’s capture.

“Today we are ready to enforce our mandate and take power,” Machado said in a letter shared on the social platform X, translated by Le Monde. “Let us remain vigilant, active and organized until the Democratic Transition is realized. A transition that needs ALL of us.”

Machado placed her support behind opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia, whom Maduro defeated in Venezuela’s elections in 2024 amid allegations of widespread voter fraud. She said Urrutia must be “recognized as Commander in Chief of the National Armed Forces by all officers and soldiers.”

Residing in Europe, Machado said she would return to Venezuela whether or not Maduro remains in power. Her exact whereabouts are unknown.

U.S. troops captured Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores following strikes across Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, early Saturday morning. The U.S. Army’s Delta Force captured them from Maduro’s compound and brought them to the USS Iwo Jima, which is heading for New York where the two will face charges.

Latin American leaders condemned the attack. Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said on X that her country’s government “strongly condemns and rejects the military actions carried out unilaterally in recent hours by armed forces of the United States of America against targets in the territory of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in clear violation of Article 2 of the Charter of the United Nations (UN).”

“These acts represent a most serious affront to Venezuela’s sovereignty and yet another extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community,” Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva posted on X. “Attacking countries, in flagrant violation of international law, is the first step toward a world of violence, chaos, and instability, where the law of the strongest prevails over multilateralism.”

Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font called for “a peaceful solution to the serious crisis” in Venezuela.

“Chile reaffirms its commitment to basic principles of International Law, such as the prohibition of the use of force, non-intervention, the peaceful settlement of international disputes, and the territorial integrity of States,” Font wrote on X. “The Venezuelan crisis must be resolved through dialogue and the support of multilateralism, and not through violence or foreign interference.”