Coin Press - Venezuela's sidelined Machado arrives at White House for Trump talks

Wearing a white suit, Machado arrived at the White House complex in Washington in an SUV and was escorted inside for what officials say is set to be a closed-door lunch with Trump.

Machado will be trying to court Trump a day after he used glowing terms to describe his first known call with Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez, confirming his satisfaction with Maduro's allies remaining in power for now.

Since the January 3 US military operation that captured Maduro, Trump has said that Machado "doesn't have the support" in Venezuela to be its leader, in a huge blow to the 58-year-old.

But Machado has offered to share her Nobel award with Trump and the president indicated she might give it to him when they meet -- despite the Norwegian Nobel Institute saying its prizes cannot be transferred.

"I understand she wants to do that. That would be a great honor," Trump said in a recent Fox News interview.

- Sixth tanker seized -

Trump fumed about not getting the award himself after the Nobel committee gave it to Machado for her activism in pursuit of democracy in Venezuela, despite threats of imprisonment by Maduro's government.

After she appeared in Oslo last month to collect her Nobel prize -- following a daring escape by boat -- she did not return to Venezuela and remained in effective exile.

Since Maduro's capture, Trump has said that the United States will "run" Venezuela but has appeared content to let Rodriguez remain in power.

Trump on Wednesday called Rodriguez a "terrific person" and hailed "terrific progress" by Venezuela. Rodriguez said the call was "productive and courteous," and characterized by "mutual respect."

"Many topics were discussed," Trump said on social media, "including Oil, Minerals, Trade and, of course, National Security."

Notably absent was any mention of a political transition, an issue Washington has set aside to focus on its economic demands, particularly access to Venezuelan oil.

The United States on Wednesday seized a sixth oil tanker in its campaign to control oil leaving the fossil fuel-rich South American country.

Marines and sailors apprehended the Tanker Veronica in the Caribbean without incident in a pre-dawn raid, the US military said on social media, with a video showing soldiers rappelling onto a vessel's deck.

"The only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully," it said.

Separately, a US official told AFP on Thursday that the first US-brokered sale of Venezuelan oil, worth around $500 million, has been finalized, without identifying the buyer.

- Prisoner releases -

Machado, who campaigned for years to end Maduro's rule, will seek during her lunch with Trump to bring the issue of a democratic transition back into the foreground.

Venezuela's opposition has argued and presented evidence that Maduro stole the 2024 election from the candidate of Machado's party, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia -- claims supported by Washington.

Venezuelan electoral authorities, seen as allied with Maduro, never released data from the vote.

Hundreds of people were arrested in post-election protests, and while Gonzalez Urrutia fled to Europe for asylum, Machado remained in the country in a hidden location, appearing only intermittently at rallies.

Under pressure from Washington, Venezuela has released dozens of political prisoners in the past week, though hundreds remain behind bars.

burs-dk/des

A.Leibowitz--CPN