Venezuelan opposition leader draws a huge crowd in Madrid and rebuffs Spain’s Sánchez

Key Points:

• Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado attracted several thousand supporters at a rally in Madrid but declined a meeting with Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez during her European tour.
• Machado praised former U.S. President Donald Trump for his role in ousting Nicolás Maduro and criticized the interim Venezuelan government led by Delcy Rodríguez as chaotic and violent.
• Despite being barred from Venezuela’s 2024 presidential race, Machado remains a prominent figure among Venezuelan exiles and continues to advocate for democratic elections and the restoration of democracy in her country.
• Machado’s European tour included meetings with leaders from France, Italy, and the Netherlands, and she expressed confidence in Washington’s phased approach to Venezuela’s political transition.
• With around 600,000 Venezuelans living in Spain, many fleeing persecution and economic collapse, Machado’s rally in Madrid highlighted ongoing hopes among the diaspora for political change in Venezuela.