When the opposition against Nicolás Maduro’s government in Venezuela seemed once again feeble and hopeless, the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to its leader, María Corina Machado, rekindles hope.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee chose Machado this Friday “for her tireless efforts to promote the democratic rights of the Venezuelan people and her struggle for a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
Machado has tried everything in her battle against the governments of Hugo Chávez and now Maduro.
She has participated in elections and called for abstention, engaged in negotiation meetings that unfortunately failed, and urged the public to take to the streets.
As the leading opposition figure in the elections on July 28, 2024, she organized a structure that enabled the publication of electoral results showing the opposition’s victory against Maduro, who was declared the winner by the electoral body without showing the results.
More than a year has passed since the elections, and with Machado in hiding, pressure on Maduro now comes from the United States, where President Donald Trump, a supporter of Machado, has intensified his messaging against the Venezuelan leader, whom he describes as the head of a drug cartel.
In this interview with BBC Mundo, Machado discusses what may come next following the Nobel announcement.
María Corina Machado, Nobel Peace Prize winner of 2025. You are the second Latin American woman and the first Venezuelan to achieve this recognition, how did you feel when you received the news?
Well, I feel just like I do now. I still can’t believe it. I haven’t had a chance to process it.
But at the same time, I feel that the people of Venezuela have earned this recognition.
Millions of Venezuelans have given everything. They have risked their lives, their families, their properties, everything.
This is a shot of energy, spirit, and strength to complete the final stage of this struggle, which is the liberation of Venezuela and the building of a nation with strong democratic and ethical pillars.
Despite this great news that is making headlines around the world, the atmosphere in Venezuela is not festive. How do you feel about not being able to celebrate this award in the streets with your supporters, and that the opposition cannot celebrate it out of fear?
It may not be festive on the streets, but it is in homes, and that’s very powerful in Venezuela.
We have understood that against this regime of terror we must find action mechanisms, but in protected ways.
This has driven us to innovate in various methods. We are organizing, communicating, and protecting one another.
What has occurred these past hours in Venezuela is extraordinary. People know, and they tell me, that this award is for all Venezuelans.
I would go further; I would say it’s for all citizens around the world who have contributed to allowing the voice of Venezuela and the strength of this gigantic movement we have built to continue growing, and that we are truly on the threshold of freedom.
The government has remained silent since Friday. Have you received any kind of message or communication from the government?
Of course, they don’t communicate with me. They obviously understand that what has happened is the legitimization of this movement that achieved an overwhelming victory on July 28, 2024.
This confirms that Nicolás Maduro is absolutely isolated.
Even his former allies and governments that supported him have abandoned him.
A billboard in Caracas accuses Machado and other opposition politicians of seeking sanctions against Venezuela. Photo Getty
Venezuela has changed significantly since you founded the Vente Venezuela movement in 2012 while Hugo Chávez was still in power. How has your struggle evolved?
Venezuela has changed significantly on many fronts.
Clearly, the most obvious and public aspect for the international community is the destruction of not only our economy but also our natural resources.
The country’s Gross Domestic Product has fallen by 80% in a decade. That’s unprecedented globally.
Another terrible harm has been inflicted on our institutions. Today in Venezuela, no one dares to speak, neither human rights activists, nor judges, nor journalists, nor priests.
People are taken prisoner just for denouncing inflation, rising costs, or food shortages. And if they can’t find the person, they take their family instead.
This is the level of depravity that we have seen progressively take root in the country, yet at the same time, this strength has been growing that unites us.
In 2023, we initiated a process of reconnection among Venezuelans ahead of the primaries.
This movement was able to conduct primaries against the will of the regime, without its resources or the electoral body.
Later, we managed to create a unique citizen platform in the world of over a million citizens, which has transformed into a strength that, despite all the repression, has the regime on the ropes.
Finally, the international community’s position has also changed significantly, recognizing that we are not facing a conventional dictatorship, but a criminal structure that has turned Venezuela into a sanctuary for the operations of all enemies of the West.
Iran, Russia, Hezbollah, Hamas, the cartels, and guerrillas operate freely in Venezuela and destabilize the region from here. Now the world understands that, since it’s a criminal structure, it should be treated as such, applying international law and order.
So, we are in a unique and unprecedented moment.
The regime is weaker than ever, and Venezuelan society is more united, hopeful, and organized than ever.
The Norwegian committee awarded Machado the Nobel Peace Prize for her defense of democratic rights in Venezuela. Photo Getty
What self-criticism do you make at this moment?
Of course, we have made many mistakes. We must learn from them and own them with humility.
I feel the biggest mistake was underestimating the cruelty and lack of scruples of the Chávez and now Maduro regimes.
Regimes that systematically provoke confrontation among citizens, that constantly seek to expel one-third of the population and have society starving, especially children. Our children are not attending public school.
In Venezuela, public schools only operate two days a week because teachers are scarcely paid.
We underestimated a regime that aimed to destroy society to seize the wealth of Venezuelan territory for criminal purposes.
You have protested, participated in elections, and called for abstention. You have tried every avenue. What’s next? What is the next step for the Venezuelan opposition?
Indeed, we have walked every road. We have been on the streets, we have protested, and we have faced gunfire, persecution, torture, and assassination.
We’ve gone to elections, and they’ve been stolen from us, yet we demonstrated our victory and, of course, we have engaged in dozens of supposed dialogues, where the regime has consistently disregarded the commitments it had made, again and again.
The next step is what we are taking now.
We have finally understood that this must be a coordination of internal and external forces.
When confronting a criminal structure that ultimately sustains itself through the money flows generated by its criminal activities, we need to cut those flows. We need an organized society.
Today, we are tens of thousands of citizens connected underground, in hiding, and we need the international community to take firm steps so that the money flows the regime uses for corruption and repression cease to arrive.
That, finally, is what is occurring now.
In the months before and after the July 2024 elections, Machado participated in demonstrations throughout the country. Photo Getty
Chavismo has accused the U.S. of planning an invasion. A recent poll stated that in the event of military action to “remove Maduro,” 44% of respondents said they would support it, while 7% said they would oppose it. What do you think of these results, and what is your stance?
Venezuela is already living an invasion, absolutely. From Cuban, Iranian, Chinese, Russian agents, from Islamic terrorists and drug cartels that have taken control of significant parts of our territory, leaving trails of blood, destruction, pain, and hunger.
This reaction is because this is about liberation.
Firstly, Venezuelans have already expressed a mandate for regime change. This is very important, and the world knows and recognizes it.
Maduro is clearly a criminal.
He is the head of a criminal structure, an illegitimate leader who clings to power by force, applying state terrorism, as stated by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, committing crimes against humanity, just as the United Nations’ fact-finding mission has indicated.
Therefore, the country and society long for freedom to advance toward an orderly transition.
We deeply understand that external support is necessary.
With the terror present in Venezuela, for almost 50% of the population to say they want support means it is actually close to 90%, because people are afraid to speak, even in a poll.
So would you support an invasion as a last resort?
Who is talking about invasion here? I repeat: the invasion already exists.
The invasion exists, we need liberation. For that, we need firm positions, for instance, like the one that occurred yesterday in the United Nations Security Council, where the United Kingdom took a strong leadership position, as it has in other conflicts in the world, like the Middle East and in Ukraine, and is now applying that to Venezuela.
They stated that the only way to resolve the conflict in Venezuela is through an orderly transition that respects the popular sovereignty expressed on June 28.
That is exactly what we are going to do and what will happen.
Now it depends on Maduro.
Maduro needs to understand that he has been offered a negotiation process and that if he accepts it, things will go better for him. But he will leave, regardless of his decision.
The Nicolás Maduro government has not commented on the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Machado this Friday. Photo Getty
You are allied with Trump, but he is ordering attacks on boats that have resulted in casualties among Venezuelans and is ending TPS, which protects thousands of Venezuelans in the U.S. from Maduro’s government. Isn’t there a contradiction there? Some criticize you for not contradicting Trump, do you think it’s compatible to have a good relationship with Trump and criticize the attacks that have resulted in Venezuelan deaths?
There is one clear stance: we will liberate Venezuela and offer protection to all Venezuelans within the country.
Nine million Venezuelans have had to flee due to Nicolás Maduro’s direct actions, who kills, impoverishes, and persecutes.
The one responsible for what is happening is Nicolás Maduro and his circle, who have declared war on Venezuelans that we never wanted.
As you rightly said, I have attempted every peaceful, civic, and constitutional mechanism.
The one responsible for what is happening is Maduro, who personally leads a drug cartel.
One important point I want to make is that the case of Venezuela is different from others.
In many countries around the world, drug cartels and criminal groups have infiltrated public power organs.
In Venezuela’s case, a drug cartel has taken control of all state organs and uses them to oppress, persecute, torture, and assassinate the defenseless population while destabilizing the region.
They have turned Venezuela into the hub of organized crime worldwide, a country at the heart of the Americas.
So, who is responsible for other countries acting to defend their national security?
The responsible party is Nicolás Maduro.
What do you say to those opposition members who do not want the U.S. to invade or attack Venezuela?
There are only two positions. You are either with the people of Venezuela, who ordered a transition to democracy, or you are with a cartel and the crime that Maduro represents.
Those are the two positions: with the people of Venezuela, supported by the U.S. and the majority of nations in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe.
Very few have remained silent in the face of Nicolás Maduro’s criminal escalation.
So I won’t speculate on the motives of some individuals in Venezuela who align with the regime’s narrative. They must have their reasons.
But I will say this: history will judge, just as the Venezuelan people are doing today.
The Donald Trump government has conducted airstrikes in the Caribbean on boats allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela. Photo Getty
Back in 2017, Trump said all options were on the table, and nothing happened. What makes this time different?
I believe we are experiencing, as I said before, an unprecedented moment in the history of Venezuela.
Never has society been so united, so organized. We have legitimate leadership. The opposition is absolutely articulated and united, and society is cohesive.
I ask you: in which other country in the world do you have 90% of the society without differences—no religious, racial, regional, economic, or ideological differences? Everyone wants the same thing.
This is something we have never achieved before in our country, and I struggle to see another case in the world today.
Secondly, the regime is weaker than ever. There are now evident fractures internally: they betray, expose, and fear one another because they know time is running out.
And, clearly, all the crimes Nicolás Maduro and his circle have committed over the years have created a monumental dossier that not only the U.S. possesses, but also European and Latin American countries. It’s time to make all of this public.
If I could ask democratic governments for one thing, it is to apply the law.
We need the information they have about the crimes, about the front men who made possible the looting of Venezuela to be made public, and we need them to take away the regime’s access to the financial systems in those countries that have welcomed these blood-stained capital so they can no longer use them for repression, persecution, and terror.
I believe we are moving in that direction, and that’s why I am so optimistic and convinced that freedom for Venezuela is very close.
You spoke with President Trump on Friday. What can you tell us about that conversation?
Yes, we had a conversation yesterday. It was a good conversation. I was able to express our gratitude and the appreciation of the Venezuelan people for what he is doing, not only in America but worldwide, for peace, freedom, and democracy.
I was very pleased that we had the opportunity to talk.
María Corina Machado and Edmundo González, presidential candidate in 2024. Photo Getty
Do you think the solution for Venezuela is already in the hands of others?
We have never thought that, as it would be evading our responsibility. If there’s anything we Venezuelans have learned, it’s co-responsibility.
This does not depend on some international or national leaders. It depends on everyone.
The key here is the people, paradoxically the variable that has been omitted from all analyses of Venezuela in recent years.
Those who said it was impossible to hold citizen primaries without the regime involved, those who said it was impossible to organize and mobilize the population to defeat Maduro under absolutely fraudulent conditions in elections, they now tell us that an orderly transition is impossible because chaos would ensue. That is the regime’s latest narrative. The chaos is them.
What more chaos could exist in Venezuela, in a country where the population lacks food, cannot attend school, and has no medicine in hospitals?
Thus, the thesis that Venezuela would descend into chaos is absolutely false, because the key is in the people who will support a transition process.
Of course, it will be very difficult, harsh, sensitive, and complex. These guys have destroyed everything.
We do not know what Venezuela’s reserves are. We do not know the country’s budget. We do not know how much PDVSA (the state oil company) produces or what public spending is. We know nothing.
We do not know what occurs within PDVSA, what is happening in the Supreme Court, nowhere. It’s all murky. A black box, filled with corruption, crime, and mafia.
So yes, it will be a great challenge, but I assure you that you will witness an orderly, peaceful transition, which is what the people have mandated and which the people will guarantee.
What message do you have today for Maduro?
For the peace of Venezuela, leave now, already. And for your own good because, with or without negotiation, Maduro will exit power very soon.
And what message do you have for those Venezuelans who still support him?
I know that even among Venezuelans who are being threatened because they are public employees, who have been told their food rations will be taken away if they don’t participate in the regime’s absurd convocations, or among those being spied on, persecuted by the military, police, and courts, there is also that desire to live with dignity and freedom.
These are Venezuelans who go home to empty fridges, who are faced with their children’s questions, who cannot look their mothers in the eyes, and they know there is no future.
Meanwhile, we are extending arms to say ‘let’s reconnect with this country, as we have already reconnected with 90%. A few remain. This victory for Venezuela will be historic, not only for us. I believe it will be monumental in the history of humanity, because it’s a people that was confronted with the most violent and cruel weapons and decided to organize, resist, and advance civically, believing in our strength and our ideas.
I feel today more than ever this movement and strength that emerges will transcend our borders. This will not remain only in Venezuela. When Maduro falls, we will see the Cuban regime collapse as well, and how the Nicaraguan regime will fall, and we will have all of the Americas freed from tyranny, dictatorships, and narco-terrorism.
BBC