Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures to supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)2026-01-15T05:10:27Z WASHINGTON (AP) Venezuelan opposition leader Mara Corina Machado comes to the White House on Thursday to discuss her countrys future with President Donald Trump even after he publicly dismissed her credibility to take over after an audacious U.S. military raid captured then-President Nicols Maduro.Trump has raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in Venezuela. His administration has signaled its willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodrguez, who was Maduros vice president and, along with others in the deposed leaders inner circle, remains in charge of day-to-day governmental operations.In endorsing Rodrguez so far, Trump has sidelined Machado, who has long been a face of resistance in Venezuela and sought to cultivate relationships with Trump and key administration voices like Secretary of State Marco Rubio among the American right wing in a gamble to ally herself with the U.S. government. Trump administration indicates no major expectationsThe White House says Machado sought the face-to-face meeting with Trump without setting expectations for what would occur. Her party is widely believed to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro. Machado previously offered to share with Trump the Nobel Peace Prize she won last year, an honor he has coveted.Machado plans to have a meeting at the Senate following her lunch with Trump, who has called her a nice woman while indicating they might not touch on major issues in their talks Thursday.Her Washington swing began after U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says had ties to Venezuela. It is part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American countrys oil after U.S. forces seized Maduro and his wife at a heavily guarded compound in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges. The White House says Venezuela has been fully cooperating with the Trump administration since Maduros ouster. Rodrguez, the acting president, herself has adopted a less strident position toward Trump and his America First policies toward the Western Hemisphere, saying she plans to continue releasing prisoners detained under Maduro a move thought to have been made at the behest of the Trump administration. Venezuela released several Americans this week.Trump, a Republican, said Wednesday that he had a great conversation with Rodrguez, their first since Maduro was ousted.We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things, Trump said during an Oval Office bill signing. And I think were getting along very well with Venezuela. Machado doesnt get the nod from TrumpEven before indicating the willingness to work with Venezuelas interim government, Trump was quick to snub Machado. Just hours after Maduros capture, Trump said of Machado that it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesnt have the support within or the respect within the country.Machado has steered a careful course to avoid offending Trump, notably after winning last years Nobel Peace Prize, which Trump wanted to win himself. She has since thanked Trump. Her offer to share the peace prize with him was rejected by the Nobel Institute.Machados whereabouts have been largely unknown since she went into hiding early last year after being briefly detained in Caracas. She briefly reappeared in Oslo, Norway, in December after her daughter received the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf.The industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate began challenging the ruling party in 2004, when the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, Smate, promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chvez. The initiative failed, and Machado and other Smate executives were charged with conspiracy.A year later, she drew the anger of Chvez and his allies again for traveling to Washington to meet President George W. Bush. A photo showing her shaking hands with Bush in the Oval Office lives in the collective memory. Chvez considered Bush an adversary. Almost two decades later, she marshaled millions of Venezuelans to reject Chvezs successor, Maduro, for another term in the 2024 election. But ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared him the winner despite ample credible evidence to the contrary. Ensuing anti-government protests ended in a brutal crackdown by state security forces.___Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela, and Janetsky from Mexico City. AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report. MEGAN JANETSKY Megan Janetsky covers migration, conflict, human rights and politics in Mexico and Central America for The AP based in Mexico City. Previously, she covered Cuba and the Caribbean for The AP and worked as freelance journalist in Colombia, reporting across South America. twitter instagram facebook mailto WILL WEISSERT Weissert covers the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto