Far-right Venezuelan politician MarĂa Corina Machado seating behind a laptop. Photo: ABC.
According to the international news agency Reuters, Venezuelan far-right leader MarĂa Corina Machado presented the false narrative to US President Donald Trumpâs advisors that alleged that Venezuelan President NicolĂĄs Maduro was the leader of the defunct Tren de Aragua criminal gang . The narrative was then used to attempt to justify the ongoing military actions against Venezuela
The Reuters report details a series of meetings that were allegedly held by Machado’s team with Trump’s close circle with the aim of influencing US policy toward Venezuela. One of these events took place on January 6, 2025, when members of Machadoâs team met with Mike Waltz, who would later join Trumpâs national security team.
At that meeting, according to Reuters, Machado participated remotely via video call from her location in Venezuela. The report underscores that this meeting was part of a âhigh-stakes gambleâ by Machado to forge an alliance with the most influential factions of the Trump team.
Reuters reports that the former mayor of the El Hatillo municipality in Venezuela, David Smolansky, currently a fugitive from Venezuelan courts, was allegedly responsible for spreading false information to Waltz about supposed ties between the Venezuelan president and Tren de Aragua.
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Escalation and controversial designations
According to Reuters, this far-right extremist group played a key role in the escalation of the pressure exerted by the White House against President Maduro and the Venezuelan people. After the meeting with Waltz, the United States designated Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization that supposedly posed a threat to the US and was under Maduroâs control. A US $50 million reward was offered for President Maduro’s capture.
The report also refers to the deployment of US troops in the Caribbean and the killings of suspected drug traffickers. However, the same report acknowledges that according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), âonly a fraction of the cocaine destined for the United States passes through Venezuela.â
Additionally, the report mentions a claim by Trump that the 11 people killed in the first attack were members of Tren de Aragua, although he presented no evidence to support that claim.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/SL
