U.S. President Donald Trump met on the 15th (local time) at the White House with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who has led a pro-democracy movement against the Nicolás Maduro regime.
Since the ouster of President Maduro on the 3rd, President Trump has been cooperating with existing government officials leading Venezuela's state affairs, but he also appears to be maintaining ties with the opposition that opposes the Maduro regime.
Karoline Leavitt, White House Spokesperson, said in a briefing before the meeting, "The president has been looking forward to this meeting, and he expects a positive and good conversation with Machado."
She added, "The president wants to talk with her about what is happening in Venezuela and the realities on the ground."
Machado was expected to appeal for President Trump's support so the opposition can wield influence over Venezuela's state affairs going forward. In fact, after the talks, Machado was quoted by Reuters as saying, "The conversation with President Trump went very well."
However, Machado did not say whether she gave President Trump the Nobel Peace Prize she received for her contributions to the pro-democracy movement.
Earlier, Machado expressed a desire to share the prize with President Trump, who is eager to win the Nobel Peace Prize, but the Norwegian Nobel Committee reaffirmed that "sharing the prize is impossible."
The Trump administration says it will hold elections to choose a new government at some point, but for now it is mainly dealing with the existing Venezuelan government led by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, an associate of Maduro. The reason is that Venezuelans do not support Machado.
The day before Machado's visit, President Trump spoke by phone with acting President Rodríguez and predicted that "cooperation between the United States and Venezuela will be great for everyone." The Rodríguez acting government is said to be fully cooperating with U.S. demands and requests.
Spokesperson Leavitt, noting Rodríguez's cooperation with the United States on crude oil sales transactions, the release of political prisoners and the release of detained Americans, said, "The president is pleased and expects this cooperation to continue."