Machado also visited Congress to meet US senators during her visit to Washington, where her remarks to reporters were drowned out by supporters chanting “María, presidente” and waving Venezuelan flags.

Machado had been expected to use her time with Trump to try to persuade him that backing Rodríguez’s interim government was a mistake, and that her opposition coalition should be in charge of this transition.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters as the meeting was under way on Thursday that Machado is “a remarkable and brave voice for many of the people of Venezuela” and that Trump “was looking forward to this meeting and expecting a frank and positive discussion” about the current realities of life in Venezuela.

Trump has previously described Machado as a “freedom fighter”, but rejected the notion of appointing her to lead Venezuela after Maduro’s removal, arguing that she lacks sufficient domestic support.

Freddy Guevara, co-founder of the opposition Venezuelan party Voluntad Popular and a former political prisoner of Maduro now living in exile, told the BBC he didn’t think Machado was “looking for endorsement” in giving Trump the prize or that it was a “tactic so Trump can appoint her”.

“I think this is not a personal goal. I think that María Corina Machado understands the importance, and she believes that this is the right thing to do for the freedom of Venezuela,” Guevara said, speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme.

He said the focus of the opposition was on securing democratic elections for the country. “What we are aiming is to have a democratic transition in which the people of Venezuela are the ones that will decide through their votes who is the one that is going to govern us.”

Since Maduro was seized on 3 January, the Trump administration has moved quickly to remake Venezuela’s oil sector, which had been under US sanctions. On Wednesday an American official said the US had completed its first sale of Venezuelan oil, valued at $500m (£373m).

Oil tankers suspected of transporting sanctioned Venezuelan oil have also been seized by the US, with US forces saying they had boarded a sixth tanker on Thursday.

Guevara said he didn’t think the US’s actions just related to oil, “however, we are not naive, and we understand the importance of development and oil for them [the US]. But we believe that both things can work at the same time.”

A Venezuelan government envoy is expected to travel to Washington on Thursday to meet US officials and take initial steps toward reopening the country’s embassy, the New York Times reported.

The emissary is reported to be a close ally and friend of Rodríguez, who has been described as “extremely co-operative” by the White House.

Rodríguez delivered the annual Message to the Nation speech in Caracas on Thursday, in which she said she was willing to attend meetings in Washington as well.

“If I ever have to go to Washington as acting president, I will do so standing tall, walking, and not crawling,” she said, calling on the country to “not be afraid of diplomacy” with the US.

Trump and Rodríguez also spoke by phone on Wednesday, with Trump later describing his counterpart on social media as “a terrific person”. Rodríguez, meanwhile, described the call as “productive and courteous” and characterised by “mutual respect.”