Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado believes that, if the socialist Maduro government falls, “hundreds of thousands” of Venezuelans living abroad would return to their homeland.
“The day President Maduro leaves, we will see tens and hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants returning home from the United States and around the world,” Machado remarked on Sunday, suggesting that the Venezuelan diaspora is eager to return. “So in that sense, restoring democracy in Venezuela could be a win-win situation.”
Machado arrived in Oslo, Norway last week as she received the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize after spending over a year in hiding due to threats from the Maduro regime. She later confirmed that the Trump administration had played a role in her escape from Venezuela.
In an interview with CBS News’ Margaret Brennan, she voiced her support for President Donald Trump’s pressure tactics against Venezuela’s socialist government.
“I fully support President Trump’s strategy, and we the people of Venezuela are very grateful to him and his administration because we see him as a champion of freedom in this hemisphere,” Machado stated.
She then dedicated her award to Trump, mentioning that he placed Venezuela where it rightly belongs in U.S. national security discussions.
Machado urged the international community to diminish the Maduro regime’s power by cutting off its revenue streams from illegal activities, such as the oil black market and various forms of trafficking.
When asked if increasing fiscal pressure on Maduro might adversely affect Venezuela’s poorer citizens, Machado emphasized that the regime’s funds are primarily directed toward corruption and crime rather than aiding the people.
“The money generated through these illegal activities is used for weapons, paying gang members for espionage, and expanding drug operations, not for helping the citizens,” she explained.
She continued, calling for coordinated legal action to counter the regime’s illegal activities, not just from the U.S. but also from other nations in the Caribbean, Latin America, and Europe. The goal, she said, is to raise the cost of maintaining power through force.
Machado concluded that “when the cost of staying in power surpasses that of stepping down, the regime will inevitably collapse. That’s when we can move toward a negotiated transition.”
It is estimated that around 8 million Venezuelans have fled since 2015, creating a migrant crisis comparable to those in conflict-ridden areas like Ukraine and Syria, despite the absence of war within Venezuela.
