Machado calls for Venezuelan election next summer

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado wants a presidential election this summer, saying there is enough time to prepare, she told the Financial Times, according to SVT.

Machado, who received last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, supports holding the vote on July 24, the anniversary of the birth of Venezuelan liberation hero Simón Bolívar. She called it a unifying date for Venezuela and other countries in the region.

Machado remains Venezuela’s most popular politician, but US President Donald Trump has backed Delcy Rodríguez, the ousted president Nicolás Maduro’s former vice president, who is now acting president. Machado said she and the US share the goal of democracy in Venezuela but differ over how quickly change should happen. She also said the US presence is keeping Rodríguez in power and steering events.

Venezuela and the US recently signed an agreement on control of oil. Machado said she wants greater transparency from the US about revenue from Venezuela’s oil reserves, saying Venezuelans are demanding it.

Machado left Venezuela a year ago to travel to Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She has not returned and is now living in exile in Panama.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are being held in New York. They were arrested in January and charged, among other offences, with drug trafficking; both deny the allegations. On Thursday, they were also charged with conspiracy to commit torture. Maduro’s defence team has not commented on the new charges.