Maria Corina Machado, a Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, is set to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House as Venezuela’s political transition accelerates after the capture of Nicolas Maduro.
The meeting comes as Trump has said the US would run Venezuela until a new leadership is established, a stance that has added uncertainty around the country’s near-term direction.
Machado’s odds in the transition race
Prediction market Kalshi data cited by Cointelegraph puts Machado at a 28% chance of leading Venezuela by the end of 2026.
She trails Unitary Platform candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia at 32%.
Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Eloina Rodriguez, who was appointed acting president after Maduro’s capture, is third at 27%.
Machado’s bitcoin stance
Machado has repeatedly argued that bitcoin helped Venezuelans cope with hyperinflation and the collapse of the bolivar, which has lost more than 99.99% of its purchasing power since Maduro took office in 2013.
Speaking in late 2024 with Human Rights Foundation chief strategy officer Alex Gladstein, she discussed bitcoin as a potential reserve asset and payments tool.
Machado said at the time:
“Venezuelans found a lifeline in Bitcoin during hyperinflation, using it to protect their wealth and to finance their escape.”
Trump questions her support
Trump has publicly questioned whether Machado has enough domestic support to lead the country.
He said:
“I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.”
Machado was widely expected to challenge Maduro in the 2025 election but was banned from running by Venezuela’s Supreme Court.
