The opposition leader of Venezuela, María Corina Machado, has celebrated the US military intervention and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro. “We are prepared to assert our mandate and take power,” the Nobel Peace Prize winner said in a statement. “Let us remain vigilant, active and organized until the democratic transition is completed. To the Venezuelans who are inside our country, be ready to implement what we are going to communicate to you very soon through our official channels.”
“In the face of its refusal to accept a negotiated solution, the US Government has kept its promise to uphold the law,” said Corina Machado in her statement titled The time of freedom has come. “We are going to restore order, free the political prisoners, build an exceptional country and have our children back home. We have fought for years, we have given everything, and it has been worth it. What had to happen is happening.”
Despite the words of Corina Machado, at this time the change of regime is not certain. In a press conference to give details of the operation, President Donald Trump was asked if Corina Machado could be the new leader of Venezuela. “It would be very difficult for her,” he responded. “She doesn’t have the internal support or the respect of the country. She is a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect.”
In one interview with elDiario.es, Michael Paarlbergformer advisor to Bernie Sanders for Latin America and analyst of the region, clarifies: “There does not seem to be any attempt, at least for now, for the United States to install the opposition in place of the current Chavista government.” “There is no indication at this time that the Army has formally defected in favor of the opposition led by Edmundo Rodríguez and María Corina Machado,” he adds.
Trump has suggested that his Administration would continue targeting Venezuelan government officials if they side with Maduro or if they take his witness: “If they remain loyal, the future is really bad, really bad for them. I would say that most of them have converted.” These statements suggest that the president will not take any further steps towards regime change, as Paarlberg claims.
In an interview with the FoxNews network, Trump said this Saturday that he will have to “analyze” whether he supports a future government headed by Corina Machado. “Well, we’re going to have to analyze it right now,” Trump responded when asked about that possibility, insisting that “Maduro’s elections were a shame.”
The opposition leader has assured in her writing that: “This is the citizens’ time.” “Those of us who risked everything for democracy on July 28. Those of us who elected Edmundo González Urrutia as the legitimate president of Venezuela, who must immediately assume his constitutional mandate and be recognized as commander in chief of the National Armed Forces by all the officers and soldiers that comprise it,” he added, referring to the candidate who faced Maduro at the polls and who the opposition recognizes as the winner of the 2024 presidential elections.
González has echoed Corina Machado’s statement on the social network