Days after being awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado He gave an interview via Zoom from his hiding place. With an impeccable image, he focused his message on the urgent need for a democratic transition and issued a direct request to the former Spanish president, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
“I only hope that Zapatero steps aside and allows us to release all our prisoners with dignity.” politicians and free 30 million Venezuelansso that those who have left can return,” declared Machado to ABC, visibly direct on the figure of the Spanish mediator.
Machado dismissed the official rhetoric about the search for dialogue, insisting that the Maduro government, which he called “narcoterrorism,” He already violated his word on 17 previous occasions. “They have made fun of the country and the international community. Now we are in a decisive moment. Maduro has to understand that, With or without negotiation, their time is up,” he reiterated.
The opposition leader recalled that the official government’s response to the democratic “victory” in the 2024 presidential elections resulted in violence and repression, including political disqualification and persecution.
Trump’s role
In justifying the dedication of the Nobel to President Donald Trump, Machado stated that the Venezuelan struggle is transnational and requires allies who constitute a “real threat” to the criminal structure.
“We need the true allies of the international community, starting with the United States government and the President Donald Trump. But as Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said, a coalition has also been formed involving governments from Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and France,” he highlighted.
Dismantling the accusations of the Spanish left about promoting an invasion, Machado declared: “In Venezuela there is already an invasion: the Cubans, who they drive up to our identity system; the Russians and the Iranians, that entered the armed forces (…) the drug cartels and the Colombian guerrillas”.
Between silences and attacks
Regarding the criticism of the Spanish left and the apparent coldness of the Pedro Sánchez government, Machado opted for a balance and expressed “deep gratitude” to the Spanish people for welcoming Venezuelan migrants.
In reference to Moncloa, he avoided speaking directly, referring to the statements of his “elected president”, Edmundo González Urrutia, who is waiting for an “official statement of some kind” from Spain. González Urrutia, whose son-in-law is kidnapped by the Maduro governmentexpressed his confidence that “There will be an official statement of some kind soon.”
Regarding the accusations of “coup,” Machado was blunt. “What happens is that, in the specific case of Pablo Iglesias and Podemos, they are political actors and operate with the government of Nicolás Maduro… and their attacks praise it.” He stated that the silence of those they do not report the “State terrorism” in Venezuela is due to “other interests.”
