Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado sharply criticized Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Thursday, accusing him of not siding with the Venezuelan people. In her first press conference after the United States recognized chavist Delcy Rodríguez as president of Venezuela, Machado, however, praised King Felipe VI for his "support for the cause of the Venezuelan people." "We had expected Spain to take the lead in this matter, and we regret that it was not the case," she said. "Regarding the government of Spain, Spain in Europe has been the fundamental link with Latin America," she said in Chile, where she attended the inauguration of the new far-right president, José Antonio Kast, on Wednesday. "Decisive hours are coming, and each government will make its decision — on the side of crime or justice, on the side of tyranny or on the side of the people of Venezuela," she emphasized. In a previous question, Machado praised "the figure of the king, who has been a symbol of unity, not only in Spain, but also in Iberoamerica" and stated that "his words of support for the cause of the Venezuelan people is something we appreciate even in these last weeks." Machado and Felipe VI met and greeted each other during the aforementioned power transfer ceremony in Chile, alongside continental leaders such as Argentina's President Javier Milei, his Bolivian counterpart Rodrigo Paz, or Ecuador's Daniel Noboa.
