By Nandita Bose, Steve Holland and Gram Slattery
WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Donald Trump will host Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado at the White House on Thursday, a meeting that could affect how the U.S. president seeks to shape the South American country's political future.
Machado, who fled Venezuela in a daring seaborne escape in December, finds herself competing for Trump's ear with members of Venezuela's government and seeking to ensure she has a role in governing the nation
going forward.
A White House lunch at 12:30 p.m. local time (1730 GMT) will mark the first time the two have met in person.
HOPES OF MOVE TO DEMOCRACY
After the U.S. captured Venezuela's longtime leader, Nicolas Maduro, in a snatch-and-grab operation this month, various opposition figures, members of Venezuela's diaspora and politicians throughout the U.S. and Latin America have expressed hope that Venezuela will begin the process of democratization.
But for now, Trump has said he is focused on economically rebuilding Venezuela and securing U.S. access to the country's oil. The day after the January 3 operation, he expressed doubts that Machado had the backing needed to return to the country and govern, telling reporters, "She doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country."
Trump has on several occasions praised Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuela's interim president, telling Reuters in an interview on Wednesday, "She's been very good to deal with."
Machado was banned from running in Venezuela's 2024 presidential election by a top court stacked with government allies. Maduro claimed victory, but outside observers widely believe Edmundo Gonzalez, an opposition figure backed by Machado, in fact won more votes by a substantial margin.
While the current government has freed dozens of political prisoners in recent days, outside groups and advocates have said the scale of the releases has been exaggerated by Caracas.
One potential topic of conversation for Thursday's White House meeting will be the Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded to Machado last month, a snub to Trump, who has long sought the award. Machado has suggested she would give the prize to the U.S. president for having deposed Maduro, though the Norwegian Nobel Institute has said the prize cannot be transferred, shared or revoked.
Asked if he wanted Machado to give him the prize, Trump told Reuters on Wednesday: "No, I didn't say that. She won the Nobel Peace Prize."
Pressed on what he would do if she brought the prize nonetheless, he responded: "Well, that's what I'm hearing. I don't know, but I shouldn't be the one to say."
"I think we're just going to talk," Trump told Reuters. "And I haven't met her. She's a very nice woman. I think we're just going to talk basics."
After her visit with Trump, Machado will meet with a bipartisan group of senior senators on Capitol Hill in the afternoon. The opposition leader has generally found more enthusiastic allies in Congress than in the White House, with some lawmakers having expressed concerns about Trump's dismissals of her ability to govern.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose, Steve Holland and Gram Slattery; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Rod Nickel)
