María Corina Machado assured that “we depend on the support of the Trump administration. And also our European partners who understand that we must eliminate a criminal terrorist regime that has taken our country hostage.”
Opposition leader María Corina Machado assured that Venezuelans face “an important turning point” in the face of pressure from Donald Trump’s government on the administration of Nicolás Maduro with the military deployment in the Caribbean, and blamed Chavismo for “this war on the Venezuelan people.”
«I think we are facing an important turning point. And I believe that the Nobel Peace Prize has been a unique injection of energy that gives hope to our people,” Machado said in an interview with Norwegian medium NRK.
The opposition leader assured that “we depend on the support of the Trump administration. And also our European partners who understand that we must eliminate a criminal terrorist regime that has taken our country hostage.
He mentioned that Maduro was already defeated in the presidential elections last year, but considers that Venezuela is in a critical week due to growing pressure from Trump.
«It was (Nicolás) Maduro who declared this war on the Venezuelan people. We didn’t want war. When we won the elections overwhelmingly, we offered Maduro and the regime a negotiated solution, a transition in which we would provide guarantees. “They refused,” Machado recalled when responding to the US attacks on vessels in the Caribbean Sea that were supposedly transporting drugs, and in which more than 80 people died.
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The leader of the Venezuelan opposition insisted on the “war” started by Maduro through an unprecedented policy of repression.
«Not only have they used state terrorism against our people, but they have declared drug terrorism against other countries in the region. They have been warned to stop. They were offered the opportunity to resign, and they have rejected it. So everything we see happening is the exclusive responsibility of Maduro and his strict regime,” he explained.
When asked if she supports possible US action on the ground in Venezuela, she responded clearly that she supports international pressure: “It is time for Maduro to understand that he must resign.”
«I’m fighting. I’m fighting to stop a war. I am fighting to bring peace to my country. But we have learned that, to have peace, democracy is needed. That is what the Norwegian Nobel Prize committee has recognized, the fight for democracy,” Machado emphasized.
María Corina Machado and the Nobel Prize
The opposition leader said in the interview that she is doing everything possible to get to Oslo, Norway, and participate in the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony on December 10, which she expressed “will be the greatest honor of my life.”
He also commented that he will make his successful return to the country: “I want to assure you and all Venezuelans that I will return.”
The leader of the Nobel Committee, Jørgen Watne Frydnes, has said that it is “a dangerous trip because the Venezuelan regime has said that it wants to get her out of the way,” so he hopes that the opposition’s safety will be guaranteed and she will be able to reach Norway, but also return to the country.
On the other hand, in a broadcast video On social networks, Machado invited Venezuelans around the world to march on Saturday, December 6 “for peace and freedom” in Venezuela, although there have been no reports of possible concentrations within the country.
He indicated that the mobilization will be held in 80 cities in more than twenty countries, for which he asked Venezuelans to find out about the planned meeting points, as well as to propose another gathering place if they see it as feasible.
With information from NRK
*Journalism in Venezuela is carried out in a hostile environment for the press with dozens of legal instruments in place to punish the word, especially the laws “against hate”, “against fascism” and “against the blockade.” This content was written taking into consideration the threats and limits that, consequently, have been imposed on the dissemination of information from within the country.
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