PSUV Secretary General Diosdado Cabello announced this Wednesday the imminent departure of opposition leader María Corina Machado (known as «La Sayona«, referrino to a ghoulish character of the Venezuelan folklore) to the United States. According to a confidential report cited by Cabello, Machado is preparing to leave at the end of the deadline given to promote destabilizing actions in Venezuela before the July 27 elections.
A close source in Washington has confirmed that legal procedures are being carried out to facilitate her travel and reception in the US, with the support of a Miami senator. According to the report, Machado will be granted special status as a «politically persecuted person» and will subsequently seek a meeting with opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia for a possible «symbolic swearing-in» in exile.
The source also indicated that this strategy would seek to revitalize her political image, following a similar approach to that employed in the past by Juan Guaidó. However, according to the report, attempts by the Venezuelan opposition to generate an impact before July 28 (the anniversary of Nicolás Maduro’s administration) would lack popular support and be doomed to failure.
Furthermore, it was mentioned that US Senator Marco Rubio would seek to take actions against Venezuela on that date, albeit with a focus more on his own image than on supporting Machado. According to the source, sectors within Donald Trump’s administration acknowledge that the policy of maximum pressure has not yielded results and could repeat the failures of 2019.
Finally, Cabello compared Machado to Guaidó, stating that “both represent the same plan and the same failure.» He suggested that, given the lack of domestic support, Machado could justify his departure from the country by citing «risk to his life» or appear in the US after July 28 to reinforce his narrative.