Venezuela’s opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Maria Corina Machado, said in an interview that helping usher in democracy after Nicolás Maduro’s removal could be President Trump’s “Berlin Wall” moment, as she pledged to return home to fight alongside her fellow Venezuelan's and usher in a new era for her country.
“The legacy to the world is going to be huge,” Machado said. “You’re going to have a prosperous Venezuela and the region. … If you make a comparison in history, this would mean for the Americas as much as the fall of the Berlin Wall had for Europe. It’s equivalent."
“For the first time in history, you will have the Americas free of communism, dictatorship, and narcoterrorism for the first time," she proclaimed.
It remains unclear what role, if any, President Trump intends to play in shaping a new government in Venezuela. While Maduro may have been targeted, his regime still wields power, and it shows. Following the U.S. raid in early January, security forces cracked down on protesters and journalists who supported the operation, with armed motorcycle patrols intimidating residents and spreading fear. Trump has even cast Maduro’s former vice president and Venezuela’s current de facto leader, Delcy Rodríguez, in a positive light, as she has so far been willing to work with the U.S. No plans to overthrow the regime have thus far been voiced by American officials.
“[Rodríguez] designed the torture system,” Machado said. “Terror is the only thing sustaining the regime.”
“It’s not safe for anyone who believes in freedom,” she added. “But freedom is not free.”
“If Delcy Rodríguez stays, nothing truly changes,” she continued. “There will be no rule of law, no trust, no stability. Venezuelans will not come home under a criminal.”
One concrete step Trump has taken is cutting off Venezuelan oil from reaching global adversaries, including China and Russia, under what some have dubbed the "Donroe Doctrine," a fusion of Trump’s name and the Monroe Doctrine—designed to ensure countries in the Western Hemisphere serve American interests. Earlier this month, he also met with several oil executives to explore significant investment opportunities in Venezuela, aiming to turn the country into a strategic asset for the United States.
“This is the threshold of freedom,” Machado continued. “What President Trump did was historic. He understood this wasn’t just about Venezuela — it was about dismantling a criminal structure that threatens the entire Western Hemisphere.”
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
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