In the months before the United States launched a raid to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January, Venezuela and the United States engaged in Qatar-mediated talks about what the country would look like if Maduro were to step down.
However, a Qatari source told CNN that the vision for a post-Maduro Venezuela discussed at the meeting made no mention of the role of prominent opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Colina Machado.
The official said neither U.S. nor Venezuelan officials have discussed Machado as part of a post-Maduro transition plan, despite him being a vocal supporter of the U.S. intervention in Venezuela and a fierce critic of the Maduro government.
Shortly after Maduro was detained, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters he didn’t think Machado had the “support” in Venezuela to lead a transition. A few weeks later, Machado visited President Trump at the White House and handed him his Nobel Prize medal. Later, White House press secretary Caroline Levitt said Trump’s position regarding Machado’s potential leadership “has not changed.”
At the time, Machado’s adviser, David Smolansky, said the opposition figure was “a leader with ethereal support and she has the support of almost all Venezuelans.”
The Trump administration confirmed that Vice President Delcy Rodriguez will take over as president in Machado’s place. Officials said Rodriguez was involved in contacts with the United States through Doha last year.
CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.
Discussions also included the possibility of a transition of power in Venezuela. Rodriguez visited Qatar several times in 2024, including a meeting with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. The official said Qatar was acting as an intermediary between the two countries at the request of both the US government and Caracas.
Doha often plays a mediating role between Washington and Caracas, and early negotiations under the Biden administration centered on a prisoner exchange and negotiations over Americans held in Venezuela. After Maduro’s arrest, Venezuela publicly thanked Qatar for assisting in the search for proof of survival and facilitating communication efforts between the parties.
The official also told CNN that at the request of the U.S. government, a temporary bank account has been established in Qatar into which profits from Venezuelan oil sales will be deposited. The account has since been closed.
Qatar was not informed in advance of the January 3 operation in which Mr. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured by U.S. forces.
Since their arrest, Mr. Maduro and Mr. Flores have been incarcerated at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, awaiting trial on drug and gun charges. Both have maintained their innocence. The case has been moving slowly, with the U.S. government recently allowing the Venezuelan government to pay the couple’s legal costs after weeks of delays.
CNN’s Max Saltman contributed reporting.
