Albares accuses Machado of acting as an “ideological leader” by meeting only with “the Spanish far right”

Eduardo González Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares lamented on Monday that Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado chose to act as “an ideological leader” instead of as “a representative of the Venezuelan people” during her visit to Spain, in which she declined to meet with the government and instead chose to meet “only with one part of the political spectrum, with the Spanish far right.” “She has acted as an ideological leader who meets with her ideological spectrum, which is the Spanish far right,” Albares declared during an interview on the program 'Las mañanas' on Radio Nacional de España. He also asserted that Machado sought refuge in the Spanish Embassy and that he "personally" told her "there was no problem," although "she ultimately didn't use it." Therefore, he stated, the treatment the government received during its visit to Madrid was "completely unfair," because "you can't ask for help and then come and disparage Spanish institutions." Corina Machado herself later declared, during a press conference organized by New Economy Forum in Madrid, that she was unaware of Albares's remarks. "I would prefer not to comment on them," she simply stated when informed of them. During these "intense" days, she affirmed, she has been able to "receive affection" from "the institutions, the parties, this great nation, and its people." She then claimed she had to leave for the Senate to participate in another event, thus settling the matter by stating that she could also “thank his institutions.” In his statements to RNE, Albares also lamented the “racist pronouncements” heard in the Puerta del Sol during the event for Corina Machado and against the acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, something that “has no place in Spain.” Corina Machado at the New Economy Forum During her speech at the forum, Corina Machado denounced that “a repressive system still exists in Venezuela” and recalled that “mentioning” her name “was synonymous with imprisonment for a journalist or the closure of a media outlet.” She also advocated for “all Venezuelans with the right to vote to be able to do so” because “there are millions of Venezuelans longing to return to the country” and expressed her commitment to “a prosperous Venezuela based on private investment and the rule of law.” She also praised US President Donald Trump, calling him “the only head of state who has risked the lives of his citizens for the freedom of our country.” According to Machado, Venezuela would not be moving toward a transition to democracy without the US military operation of January 3, which resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his transfer to New York. Furthermore, Corina Machado compared the dismantling of the Chavista regime to “what the fall of the Berlin Wall was for Europe, but now for the Americas,” because, she asserted, it will bring “spreading waves of democracy and freedom.” “The removal of the regime in Venezuela will bring freedom and democracy to Cuba and Nicaragua and will strengthen the democratic foundations of the entire region,” she added. Regarding the “very short-term objectives” of her opposition movement in Venezuela, she emphasized the release of “each and every one of the 435 political prisoners” still held in the regime’s prisons, 187 of whom are military personnel. The second immediate objective will be to dismantle the torture centers that remain open, and the third, the return of all exiles, “millions of Venezuelans who have been forced to leave their country to save their lives physically from persecution or simply to feed their families who remained at home.” The refusal to meet with Sánchez During her visit to Spain, which included a large political rally in Madrid's Puerta del Sol with the Venezuelan community, Corina Machado (Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2025) declined to meet with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, despite offers from the government. Instead, she met with the leader of the People's Party (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo; the leader of Vox, Santiago Abascal; and the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who awarded her the region's Gold Medal. To justify this decision, Machado explained on Saturday during a press conference that the holding of the IV Meeting in Defense of Democracy in Barcelona (launched by Sánchez and the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and The event, attended by several progressive leaders, including the President of the European Council, António Costa; and the presidents of Colombia, Gustavo Petro; Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum; and Uruguay, Yamandú Orsi, is a “demonstration of why it is not advisable” to meet with the Prime Minister. Feijóo and Felipe González In statements to the media upon his arrival at the New Economy Forum information meeting, the leader of the People's Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, declared that he understands why María Corina Machado did not want to meet with Pedro Sánchez because the latter “has been cozying up to and continues to be cozying up to the Maduro regime,” and criticized the Spanish government for having requested “the lifting of the suspension of European Union sanctions against the government of Delcy Rodríguez,” which “is incompatible with democracy and is incompatible with the consistency of a Western country that believes in democracy and freedom of expression.” Regarding the chants that took place on Saturday in Puerta del Sol during an event with Venezuelans, where someone shouted "Out with the monkey!" in reference to Delcy Rodríguez, Feijóo stated that "it's clear there are people who hurl insults and then get upset when they are insulted." "I don't agree with those who insult, nor with those who are insulted," he concluded. In statements to TVE, Defense Minister Margarita Robles strongly criticized Feijóo's remarks regarding the racist insults directed at Delcy Rodríguez. In such cases, she warned, one must be "very forceful," regardless of ideology. "I am always very bothered by neutrality. I believe that in life one must take a stand (...). Neutrality is not an option," she added. The New Economy Forum event was presented by former Prime Minister Felipe González, who praised Corina Machado's leadership and declared during his speech that "the fight for freedom has no political affiliation," but rather "depends on very deep convictions, which you either have or you don't." He also advocated for a genuine amnesty in Venezuela after the fall of the regime, one that does not include crimes against humanity. According to González, democracy consists of “respecting human rights, respecting the rule of law, respecting democratic pluralism, and respecting the separation of powers,” conditions that “are not even met today” in Venezuela, whose current rulers “do not speak of transition, but of a new time,” without clarifying whether they are referring to “new forms of repression, new forms of exclusion.”

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