President Donald Trump has said that it would be "very tough" for Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Machado to become the next leader of Venezuela, as she has called for "popular sovereignty" as well as "national sovereignty" in a letter after Nicholas Maduro was captured to be indicted in the United States.
When Trump was asked if he though Machado would be able to take over as the next leader of Venezuela he responded, "I think it'd be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn't have the support or the respect within the country. She's a very nice woman but she doesn't have the respect."
Earlier on Saturday in response to Maduro's capture, Machado released a letter on X, where she called for "popular sovereignty and national sovereignty to prevail" in Venezuela.
"Venezuelans, The time for freedom has come! Nicolás Maduro from today will face international justice for the atrocious crimes committed against Venezuelans and against citizens of many other nations. Given his refusal to accept a negotiated solution, the United States government has fulfilled its promise to enforce the law," Machado wrote after Maduro's capture.
"The time has come for popular sovereignty and national sovereignty to prevail in our country. We are going to restore order, release the political prisoners, build an exceptional country, and bring our children back home. We have fought for years, we have given it our all, and it has been worth it. What was meant to happen is happening," she added in the letter.
Maduro has not been recognized as the official leader of Venezuela for some time, and other countries have not seen him as a legitimate president. In the US, many Venezuelans who fled the country were celebrating after Maduro had been captured. Machado emphasized Maduro's illegitimacy as a point in her letter, writing, "This is the hour of the citizens. Those of us who risked everything for democracy on June 28th. Those of us who elected Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as the legitimate President of Venezuela, who must immediately assume his constitutional mandate and be recognized as Commander-in-Chief of the National Armed Forces by all the officers and soldiers who comprise it."
When Trump was asked if he though Machado would be able to take over as the next leader of Venezuela he responded, "I think it'd be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn't have the support or the respect within the country. She's a very nice woman but she doesn't have the respect."
Earlier on Saturday in response to Maduro's capture, Machado released a letter on X, where she called for "popular sovereignty and national sovereignty to prevail" in Venezuela.
"Venezuelans, The time for freedom has come! Nicolás Maduro from today will face international justice for the atrocious crimes committed against Venezuelans and against citizens of many other nations. Given his refusal to accept a negotiated solution, the United States government has fulfilled its promise to enforce the law," Machado wrote after Maduro's capture.
"The time has come for popular sovereignty and national sovereignty to prevail in our country. We are going to restore order, release the political prisoners, build an exceptional country, and bring our children back home. We have fought for years, we have given it our all, and it has been worth it. What was meant to happen is happening," she added in the letter.
Maduro has not been recognized as the official leader of Venezuela for some time, and other countries have not seen him as a legitimate president. In the US, many Venezuelans who fled the country were celebrating after Maduro had been captured. Machado emphasized Maduro's illegitimacy as a point in her letter, writing, "This is the hour of the citizens. Those of us who risked everything for democracy on June 28th. Those of us who elected Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as the legitimate President of Venezuela, who must immediately assume his constitutional mandate and be recognized as Commander-in-Chief of the National Armed Forces by all the officers and soldiers who comprise it."
