CARACAS, Oct 29 (Reuters) – Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, in her first substantive remarks since returning to the country over the weekend, said on Thursday the United States has suggested presidential elections in the country take place next year, a timeline she herself has previously supported.
Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said she would ensure that all eligible Venezuelans can cast ballots in any future election.
“The statements from the State Department in recent days … about the next steps, are very clear,” including the prompt appointment of a renewed National Electoral Council, compliance with constitutional deadlines and a presidential election next year, Machado said, adding US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has backed a 2027 vote.
The 59 year-old opposition leader returned to Venezuela on Sunday after several failed attempts during the course of this year. Machado, the country’s most popular opposition figure, was barred from running in the 2024 election but her proxy roundly won, according to tallies shared by the opposition at the time.
Venezuela’s institutions, however, backed President Nicolas Maduro, who was subsequently arrested in a US raid in January. He and his wife now face US drug trafficking and torture charges, which they deny.
Taking questions from reporters at a televised press conference in Caracas, Machado avoided responding when asked about comments by US President Donald Trump from January, when he said she did not have sufficient support to immediately lead the country, and this week, when he suggested Venezuela could become the fifty-first state.
Still, Machado thanked Rubio and Trump for their role in the ouster of Maduro.
(Reporting by Mayela Armas, Deisy Buitrago and Anthony Esposito)
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