White House insiders have revealed to the Washington Post why President Donald Trump dismissed the prospects of
Nobel Peace Prize winner
María Corina Machado as the next Venezuelan leader, which even caught Machado's supporters off guard. Trump said it would be very tough for her to be the leader as she doesn't have the support or the respect within the country.
Machado's recent efforts to flatter Trump did not sit well with the President as she ultimately took the Nobel Peace Prize that Trump was eying. Two people close to the White House told Post that though Machado dedicated the prize to Trump, what mattered was that she did not reject it and that was the "ultimate sin".
“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” one said.
In the meantime, Delcy Rodríguez, who served as vice president under Nicolas Maduro until his capture, has been recognized by the armed forces as acting president.
Who runs Venezuela now?
US troops are not on the ground in Venezuela as the US said it's not in war with Venezuela. Maduro's allies are still in power while the vice president takes the new charge. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said running Venezuela means stopping Venezuela from doing thing that harm US interests and not governing the country.
But Trump said he wants to fix up Venezuela. “What we want to do is fix up the oil, fix up the country, bring the country back and then have elections,” Trump said.
A working group of top advisers in the US are engaged in planning for Venezuela's future. The group includes Rubio, Stephen Miller among others.
Trump said he had not spoken with Rodriguez but Trump administration officials have warned that Rodríguez could face more military action if she did not acquiesce to American demands. Trump hinted that she could pay a “bigger” price than Maduro if she does not toe the US line.
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