Venezuelan Interior Minister Snubs Opposition Leader: ‘America Has Abandoned You’
Venezuela’s Interior Minister, Diosdado Cabello, pointedly declared that the country’s Western-backed opposition leader has been abandoned by the United States and no longer holds a place in Caracas’s power dynamics.
Addressing prominent opposition figure María Machado, Cabello said, “Your emperor has forsaken you.” This remark came in response to recent statements by U.S. President Donald Trump, who questioned Machado’s legitimacy in aspiring to assume power.
Cabello recalled an old meeting between the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez and Machado, noting that Chávez told her in Spanish at the time that she had been sidelined, but Machado failed to grasp the message. According to the Interior Minister, that same message has now been reiterated more explicitly by her foreign supporters.
Rejecting the political standing of Machado and other Western-backed factions, the Venezuelan Interior Minister affirmed full support for Delcy Rodríguez as the interim president.
According to Venezuelan officials, the United States took military action on January 3 to arrest President Nicolás Maduro, and the White House has announced cooperation with his successor for the transfer of power.
Delcy Rodríguez, emphasizing resistance against the U.S., called for the release of Venezuela’s legitimate president from detention and stressed continued defiance against external pressures.
