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Venezuela needs “colossal investments”, Machado said, but “it needs much more than money”.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado speaks during 2026 CERAWeek by S&P Global energy conference in Houston, Texas. (IMAGE: AFP FILE)
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Thursday called for a democratic transition in her country, saying the billions of dollars expected from a new US-backed oil deal will not be enough to rebuild Venezuela.
Machado, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, made the remarks after Venezuela’s interim government signed a major agreement giving the United States access to more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil — almost a fifth of the country’s proven reserves.
The deal was celebrated as “historic” by US President Donald Trump and Venezuelan interim leader Delcy Rodriguez on Wednesday. Both, however, played down the prospect of elections being held in Venezuela in the near future.
For Machado, the oil sector is only one piece of a much larger challenge.
“The oil sector is only one part of the immense reconstruction we must undertake in Venezuela,” she said in a video statement on Thursday.
Venezuela needs “colossal investments”, Machado said, but “it needs much more than money”.
“No development is possible without solid institutions and a government elected by popular vote,” she added.
The comments came as Washington pushes ahead with deals involving Venezuela’s oil and other strategic sectors, while the question of when — or whether — the country will return to elections remains unresolved.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright travelled to Venezuela on Wednesday for the signing of agreements involving oil major Chevron, GE Vernova and Italy’s ENI.
Wright rejected suggestions that Washington was taking Venezuela’s oil for itself.
“All we’re doing is taking an idle, underground asset that isn’t doing anything for Venezuelan people and bringing the money, the technology to develop it,” he told AFP and other media outlets.
‘I know how you feel’
Trump has shown little urgency over holding elections in Venezuela, saying he does not believe the country is ready for them yet.
“I just don’t think they’re ready yet,” Trump told reporters.
Rodriguez, who took over as interim leader after US forces ousted President Nicolas Maduro in January, has echoed Trump’s position.
Machado, meanwhile, acknowledged the frustration among Venezuelans over the lack of transparency surrounding the oil agreement.
“I know how you feel: sadness, anger, and that all-too-familiar unease in our history,” she said, describing the feeling that decisions over the country’s resources were being made without its people having a say.
Machado has been careful not to direct her criticism primarily at Washington. Instead, she has focused on Venezuela’s interim government, which she regards as illegitimate.
“The wealth in our subsoil does not belong to an illegitimate regime; it belongs to the Venezuelan people,” she said.
At the same time, Machado said the United States was “of course” the main partner Venezuela needed to fully develop its strategic value.
Transition talks underway
Trump has repeatedly praised Rodriguez, who has estimated that Venezuela could make $209 billion in profits from the new deals over 25 years.
Under Rodriguez, Venezuela has opened its mining, electricity and oil sectors to foreign and private investment.
Machado’s position in the transition process remains complicated. Washington has denied reports that Trump blocked her return to Venezuela, even after she gave him her Nobel Peace Prize.
She was also not invited to US-backed talks between the interim government and selected opposition groups, although Machado has said she would not interfere with the process.
The next round of talks is expected within 10 days, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News on Wednesday.
Quick Answers
Ask News18Maria Corina Machado plans to return to Venezuela from exile before the end of 2026 and intends to run for president again. She has also stated that she will not interfere with the US-backed transition talks currently underway between Venezuela’s interim government and selected opposition groups.
Ask News18About the Author
Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a chief sub editor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over seven years of experience during which he has …Read More
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