The Minister of the Interior and Secretary General of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), Diosdado Cabello, has launched a direct challenge to the Venezuelan opposition this Tuesday to submit to elections, assuring that chavismo would impose itself again in any eventual elections.
In parallel, the opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, María Corina Machado, has reiterated her determination to return as soon as possible to Venezuela to "facilitate the political transition" in the country.
During the events for the anniversary of Hugo Chávez's electoral victory on October 7, 2012, Cabello has called on his supporters to maintain their presence in the streets and to support "president" Delcy Rodríguez "on all fronts of battle." The chavista leader has asked the party members to continue "adding every day" so that, when the political adversary "who claims to have 90% of the polls" decides to go to the polls, chavismo is in a position "to win again."
Cabello has reiterated his challenge, emphasizing that the government is prepared to confront at the polls "whoever it may be and whenever it may be."
Simultaneously, María Corina Machado has spread a message on her social networks confirming her intention to return to the Caribbean nation to "be with the Venezuelans in this stage" and "strengthen the organization of the people." In a recent opinion article, the opposition leader stated that her responsibility at this moment is to accompany the citizens and "peacefully channel the growing social tensions." In her view, the immediate challenge is to "build a free and democratic Venezuela, which is the most reliable ally of the United States in our hemisphere."
On the other hand, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, praised the Venezuelan leader last Monday, whom he described as "an excellent woman" and expressed his confidence that "everything is going to turn out well" regarding the country's crisis. In those same statements, Trump assured that Machado had given him her Nobel Prize because the opposition leader "knew that she had earned it."