“Venezuelans, the hour of freedom has arrived,” Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado exclaimed in a statement on Saturday following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro by US special forces.
Machado said, “Faced with his [Maduro’s] refusal to accept a negotiated exit, the government of the United States has fulfilled its promise to enforce the law. Maduro, as of today, faces international justice for the atrocious crimes committed against Venezuelans and against citizens of many other nations.”
She called for the restoration of order, the freeing of political prisoners, and the rebuilding of the nation after decades of dictatorship.
“We have fought for years, we have given everything, and it has been worth it... This is the hour of the citizens. Those of us who risked everything for democracy on June 28 (the date of the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election).”
Machado calls for Edmundo González Urrutia to assume office
Machado also demanded that Edmundo González Urrutia, whom most democratic countries recognize as the legitimate president of Venezuela, assume his constitutional mandate and be recognized as commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
“To Venezuelans inside our country, be ready to set in motion what we will soon communicate to you through our official channels. To Venezuelans abroad, we need you mobilized, activating governments and citizens of the world and committing them, starting now, to the great operation of building the new Venezuela.”
She added that “in these decisive hours, receive all my strength, my confidence, and my affection. Let us all stay alert and in contact.”
Machado previously served as a member of the National Assembly of Venezuela from 2011 to 2014 but was barred from running in the 2024 presidential election by Maduro.
Machado subsequently went into hiding. She was the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her “tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”