Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, expressed her belief on Saturday that the governments of Cuba and Nicaragua will collapse once the current administration in Caracas is removed. In early January, US special forces apprehended Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, bringing him to the United States for a trial on criminal charges. Following this, Delcy Rodriguez, his former deputy, assumed the role of interim leader in Venezuela.
Rodriguez has pledged amnesty for political detainees and initiated reforms in the oil sector, aligning with US interests to maintain her position of power. Machado, who received the Nobel Prize in December after living in seclusion for over a year, conveyed the significant impact of Venezuela’s situation on the region during the Munich Security Conference via video link. She emphasized the potential ripple effect of dismantling the Venezuelan regime on Cuba and Nicaragua, foreseeing a future free from communism and dictatorship in the Americas.
Cuba, led by President Miguel Diaz-Canel, and Nicaragua, governed by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, have longstanding ties with Venezuela. Machado, when questioned about her return to Venezuela, asserted her readiness to go back, asserting that she did not require Washington’s consent but acknowledged the need for coordination. In a recent meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington, Machado presented her Nobel medal to him after feeling sidelined in favor of Rodriguez.