‘US fulfilled its promise,’ says exiled oppn leader Maria Corina Machado on Maduro’s capture

Venezuela’s exiled opposition leader and recent Nobel Peace Prize winner, Maria Corina Machado, said on Saturday that the United States “fulfilled its promise to enforce the law” after Nicolas Maduro refused “a negotiated solution”. Machado’s statement comes after US President Donald Trump announced that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been “captured” in US military action. Machado has become the most recognised face of the Venezuelan opposition in recent years and draws fresh attention in the current circumstances in Venezuela and her possible role in the country’s future.

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Machado said that Maduro will face “international justice for the heinous crimes committed against Venezuelans”.

“The HOUR OF FREEDOM has arrived! Venezuelans, starting today, Nicolás Maduro faces international justice for the heinous crimes committed against Venezuelans and citizens of many other nations. Given his refusal to accept a negotiated exit, the United States government has fulfilled its promise to enforce the law. The time has come for popular sovereignty and national sovereignty to rule in our country. We are going to restore order, free political prisoners, build an exceptional country, and bring our children back home,” Machado said in a statement posted on X in Spanish.

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Machado called for Edmundo González Urrutia, the opposition leader who lost the 2024 presidential election, which many countries accused Maduro of rigging, to “assume his constitutional mandate”

“We have fought for years, we have given our all, and it has been worth it. What had to happen is happening. This is the moment for the people. Those of us who risked everything for democracy on July 28. For those of us who elected Edmundo González Urrutia as the legitimate President of Venezuela, he must immediately assume his constitutional mandate and be recognised as Commander-in-Chief of the National Armed Forces by all the officers and soldiers who comprise it,” Machado said.

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“Today we are prepared to enforce our mandate and take power. Let us remain vigilant, active, and organised until the Democratic Transition is completed. A transition that needs ALL of us,” she added.