Florida representative on Maria Corina Machado meeting with President Trump and Cuba

(CBS, KYMA) - Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) spoke with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation Sunday about Maria Corina Machado's upcoming meeting with President Donald Trump.

According to Rep. Salazar, who is one of Machado's top allies in Congress, Machado is coming to Washington, D.C. this week, with President Trump saying it could be either Tuesday or Wednesday, with the details being worked out.

This prompted Brennan to ask the congresswoman why it was important to speak with Trump, who, according to Brennan, is currently backing Delcy Rodriguez as the current president of Venezuela, to which Salazar said:

"I don't think that the president is really backing anyone that is related to the Maduro regime. But concentrating on Maria Corina Machado, she earned it. She was the one who put together this- she proved to the international community that they, the opposition forces, had won the election. She was able to somehow create the tallies and prove to the Trump administration that they had won by 70 to 30. Remember that Maduro did not give her the opportunity to be the Presidential nominee because he did not like her, because he knew that he was going to lose against her. So she has earned it, and I am sure that she will have a very good, long, solid conversation with the President. She knows the story better than anybody. I was in touch with her during the 16 months that she was hiding in a tunnel because the Maduro forces were looking for her to kill her. So, she's earned it. So, I think we are going to welcome her in Congress, and I'm sure that President Trump is going to be highly, highly pleased with that meeting."

During the interview, Brennan and Salazar talked about Cuba, with Trump saying, in a social media post, Cuba gets no more money and no more oil.

However, Brennan said the CIA says the regime in Havana is "not necessarily in peril," even though the president says they are, leading her to ask Salazar what she's hearing, and the congresswoman said:

"I represent the city of Miami, you know, the heart of the Cuban exile community. And those words are like, magical. It's been 65 years. You know, Cuba is- is really a center of power for our enemies, Iran, Russia, China. And now I think they are getting the memo. And Cuba, it's hanging by your threat, by a thread I should say. The threat that Cuba has represented to the United States has been immense. They have no water, they have no electricity, they have no food. They have nothing. So if you think that Maduro was weak. Cuba is even weaker, and now they do not have one drop of oil coming from Venezuela. So that could be the beginning of the end."

To watch more of Brennan's interview with Salazar, click here.