Venezuelan opposition leader is confident about return of democracy but says little of her plans

1 month ago 1

By JOSHUA GOODMAN and ISABEL DEBRE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said on Friday she’s confident of her country’s eventual transition to democracy after the U.S. military ousted former President Nicolás Maduro.

But she acknowledged the challenge of holding free elections after decades of autocratic rule and declined to set any timetable. When pressed, she also took pains to avoid giving any details on her plans to return home, saying only that she would return “as soon as possible.”

Her struggle to offer clear answers in Friday’s news conference reflects how President Donald Trump’s endorsement of a Maduro loyalist to lead Venezuela for now has frozen out the nation’s Nobel Peace Prize -winning crusader for democracy.