Venezuelan leader Machado says Venezuela will be free with the help of the US

WASHINGTON (TNND) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said Friday that her country will be free with the help of the U.S.

“The only thing I want to assure the Venezuelan people is that Venezuela is going o be free, and that’s going to be achieved with the support of the people of the United States and the president, Donald Trump,” Machado said during a speaking event at the Heritage Foundation.

Earlier this year, the U.S. government captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and charged him with Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machine guns and Destructive Devices, Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy and Conspiracy to Possess Machine guns and Destructive Devices against the United States.

He had pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Trump met with Machado who gave him her Nobel Peace Prize. He called it a “wonderful gesture of mutual respect.”

As of now, Trump has not endorsed Machado for the new leader of Venezuela. She ran against Maduro a few years ago. Trump said she didn’t have enough domestic support.

Machado said there still has to be progress in Venezuela and that the Maduro regime still has to be dismantled.

“All torture centers have to be closed, and certainly there have to be guarantees for journalists to speak out and those who have left the country to come back and organize and make the will of the people be respected,” she said.

She said there are challenging times ahead in order to establish a legitimate government.

“We are facing challenging times ahead,” she said. “We are prepared to do what it takes as a legitimate government.”