House members have reportedly endorsed Maria Corina Machado despite US President Donald Trump dismissing her prospects as a potential national leader

US lawmakers have backed Venezuelan opposition figure Maria Corina Machado as a potential leader of the country following the abduction of President Nicolas Maduro, the New York Times has reported.

Members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously endorsed Machado after a closed-door meeting with her on Capitol Hill, the paper said on Wednesday.

Machado, a former congresswoman who maintained close contacts with Washington for decades, has previously led anti-government protests and accused Maduro of "illegally" seizing power during the 2024 elections. She was barred from holding public office after Venezuelan authorities accused her of backing foreign sanctions and calling for US military intervention.

US Representative Michael McCaul of Texas said Machado had "all the right stuff" to become the country's next president, according to the NYT.

"Now, the next step, obviously: free and fair elections," McCaul, a former committee chairman, said, adding, "We look forward to working with her."

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, a Florida Republican, said the US would have a role to play when Venezuela next holds elections, citing the "huge" stakes for a country he described as being "in our backyard."

Machado fully backed the US intervention into Venezuela and the kidnapping of Maduro in early January.

In December, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for what the committee called her struggle to achieve a "just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy." Machado gifted the medal to Trump last month.

Asked whether she backed US military action in her own country, Machado claimed the current "escalation" was the only way to force Maduro to realize "it's time to go," but stressed it was "not regime change" and amounted to enforcing "the will of the Venezuelan people."

Trump has consistently dismissed Machado's ability to replace Maduro as a potential new head of the oil-rich Latin American country, saying shortly after the US military raid that she "doesn't have the support or the respect within the country."

Russia has denounced the US military action in Venezuela as a violation of international law and affirmed its support for the South American nation's sovereignty.

(RT.com)