Trump warns that US priority in Venezuela now is recovery

WASHINGTON— The president of the United States, Donald Trump, assured that his government is working to contribute to the reconstruction of Venezuela, after the consequences of the double earthquake that affected the country on June 24; which means that due to the chaotic situation that the country is going through, the elections are not a priority at the moment.

Through an interview granted to Fox Newsacknowledged that a date must be announced for the presidential elections in the country, although he highlighted the priority of addressing the current crisis.

“They couldn’t have elections, they wouldn’t even know how to do it and right now the country has become a third world country and they wouldn’t know how to do it,” he said when asked about the political status of the country. “They couldn’t have elections, they wouldn’t even know how to do it and right now the country has become a third world country and they wouldn’t know how to do it,” he said when asked about the political status of the country.

Likewise, he assured that they will work on the reconstruction of the Venezuelan oil industry: “We will be in charge of it and it will go very well, and it will generate a lot of money.”

He emphasized that they will continue working to stabilize the reality of the country and subsequently, they will focus on the electoral level: “We will continue forward, but we will rebuild the country and, ultimately, we will have elections.”

For the first time, the US president speaks about the elections in the Caribbean country, after the capture of Nicolás Maduro on January 3 and left Delcy Rodríguez as interim successor. For several constitutionalists, his mandate has already expired given that more than 180 days have already passed and Maduro’s absolute vacancy must be declared and new elections called.

Ambiguous relationship?

Rodríguez has the support of Washington. While with the opposition, especially with the leader María Corina Machado, he would maintain an ambiguous relationship, according to the media, something that Machado denies.

Machado assured that he maintains fluid communication with Donald Trump’s Administration and affirmed that the relationship between both parties is developing “at the highest level”, while dismissing versions of alleged tensions between Washington and the Venezuelan opposition leadership.

He rejected versions that point to a deterioration in the relationship with Washington.

“I am not going to speculate, but I believe that there will undoubtedly be actors or interests that want to generate friction where there is none. Obviously, there are differences in positions, there have always been, we talk about them, we resolve them and we move forward. This is how diplomacy works and this is how relations of friendship and cooperation work.”