Nobel winner’s supporters disappointed by US refusal to back her but remain hopeful that in time she can win power
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here was unbridled joy among members of Venezuela’s opposition on Saturday morning as their country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, was dragged into US custody after an audacious raid on his compound. “The military strategy was brilliant,” said Ricardo Hausmann, a former minister and opposition supporter, said of the deadly nocturnal assault during which dozens of Maduro’s guards – but not a single US soldier – were reportedly killed.
That elation was short-lived. Hours after Donald Trump announced Maduro’s capture during Operation Absolute Resolve, the US president dashed opposition hopes that their leader, the conservative activist María Corina Machado, would now be able to return home to inaugurate a new democratic era.
“I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader,” Trump announced at Mar-a-Lago, claiming Machado lacked sufficient “respect” within Venezuela. Instead, Trump signalled he would recognise Maduro’s vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, and he later warned she would pay “a very high price” if she did not toe the US line and “do what’s right” by opening Venezuela’s vast oil reserves to American companies.
