Machado Calls for Free Elections in Venezuela, First Remarks Since Trump Oil Deal
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado used an appearance at the Bled Strategic Forum in Slovenia on Monday to make one message unmistakably clear: Venezuela's political transition must end with free and transparent elections — and it should happen as soon as possible.Machado's remarks were her first public comments since President Donald Trump announced Friday a sweeping new oil agreement with Venezuela that gives U.S. interests majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves.
Yet Machado did not directly address the controversial agreement in her Bled speech. Instead, she focused on the political condition she has long argued must precede Venezuela's economic reconstruction: the restoration of democracy through legitimate elections.
"For democracy to be fully restored in Venezuela, free and transparent elections must be held as soon as possible," Machado said, arguing that only respect for the popular will guarantee peace and stability.
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Machado is an industrial engineer with a master's degree in finance and began her political career as a founder of the vote-monitoring organization Súmate which was established in January 2002 as a non-governmental organization to defend the electoral and constitutional rights of all Venezuelan citizens.
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