José Enrique Arrioja on ABC Regarding María Corina Machado's Meeting with President Trump

In an interview with ABC News, José Enrique Arrioja, managing editor of Americas Quarterly and senior policy director at Americas Society/Council of the Americas, spoke with anchor Alex Presha about the reception of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado in Washington and what her meeting with President Donald Trump might signal for Venezuela's political future.

Arrioja described Machado’s visit to Capitol Hill and the White House as "very positive" noting her optimistic body language. The expert also expressed that "President Trump and the entire staff at the White House were also eager to finally hear what she has to say about the future of the country" and the role of the United States. "The Venezuelan opposition was very looking forward to this specific event," added the expert.

When asked about Trump’s comments suggesting Machado might not have the "support" to lead the country at this moment, Arrioja clarified that the U.S. president was likely referring to the current political timing. "What the president probably means is that it’s not her moment [...] The chavismo, led by the interim President Delcy Rodríguez, needs to still lead this part of this stage of the political transition," Arrioja explained, also mentioning the possibility of future presidential elections.

The managing editor concluded that the message being sent to Rodríguez is that Washington is hearing "all the parties that have a say in the future of the political future of Venezuela."

"The message is: We are playing ball with your interim government [...] but at the same time, we are open to hearing the opposition, and the undisputed leader of that opposition is María Corina Machado," he said.

Watch the full interview.