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How Venezuela's Nobel Prize Winner built a high-stakes alliance with Trump
Machado's team lobbies U.S. officials linking Maduro to criminal gangs, seeking military pressure and terrorism designations amid contested intelligence and policy risks.
- On January 6, 2025, four members of María Corina Machado's team met Mike Waltz on Capitol Hill to align with Trump hawks and present claims linking Nicolás Maduro to the Tren de Aragua gang, a U.S. security threat, David Smolansky said.
- Allies and exiled consultants fed research and intelligence from Ivan Simonovis and Gustavo Arocha into U.S. security agencies, prompting Washington to designate Tren de Aragua a terrorist group and discuss Cartel de los Soles.
- U.S. military operations have targeted drug boats near Venezuela, bombing at least eight since September and killing at least 38, with Donald Trump claiming 11 killed were Tren de Aragua members.
- Within the administration, senior officials split over militarized approaches versus oil-centered outreach, with Richard Grenell favoring oil deals until outreach ended earlier this month; the $50 million reward for Maduro continued, though Machado's influence remains unclear.
- A declassified intelligence report offers a counterpoint as the National Intelligence Council found Maduro does not direct Tren de Aragua’s U.S. operations, while María Corina Machado faces a high-risk political gamble.
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How Venezuela's Nobel Prize Winner built a high-stakes alliance with Trump
On January 6, 2025, four members of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado’s team piled onto a couch in a Capitol Hill office, across from Mike Waltz, who was soon to become Donald Trump’s national security adviser. Machado made a cameo via video call from her hideout in Venezuela.
·United Kingdom
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The Straits TimesReposted by 
The Star Kuala Lumpur
The Star Kuala LumpurVenezuela’s Nobel Prize-winner bets big on Trump as pressure builds on Maduro
WASHINGTON - On January 6, 2025, four members of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado’s team piled onto a couch in a Capitol Hill office, across from Mike Waltz, who was soon to become Donald Trump’s national security adviser. Machado made a cameo via video call from her hideout in Venezuela. Read more at straitstimes.com.
·Singapore
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources15
Leaning Left4Leaning Right4Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution40% Left, 40% Right
Bias Distribution
- 40% of the sources lean Left, 40% of the sources lean Right
40% Right
L 40%
C 20%
R 40%
Factuality
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