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Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado argued that a successful democratic transition for her country would rapidly transform the nation’s economy and reverse years of instability, reshaping the region’s political landscape.
Machado told the New York Post in an interview that such an outcome would define Trump’s foreign policy legacy, comparing it to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
“The legacy to the world is going to be huge,” she explained. “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 added.
POST TRUMP MEETING, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER SAYS COUNTRY WILL HOLD ‘FREE AND FAIR’ ELECTIONS ‘EVENTUALLY’
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado speaks during a news conference at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC, on Jan. 16, 2026. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Machado said she intends to return to Venezuela soon to help drive a democratic transition, despite the risks she faces under the country’s current government.
“I need to be there. I want to go back as soon as possible,” Machado said.
Her planned return would come at a pivotal moment for Venezuela, as interim President Delcy Rodríguez leads a U.S.-backed transition following the removal of Nicolás Maduro.
Rodríguez, a close ally of Maduro, was sworn into office on Jan. 5 after U.S. forces ousted the ex-leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their compound in Caracas during a military operation.
VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER MARÍA CORINA MACHADO PRESENTS NOBEL MEDAL TO TRUMP DESPITE INSTITUTE BAN
The State Department told Fox News that a “limited number” of people are working on the ground in Venezuela. (Jessica Koscielniak/Reuters; Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters)
The duo were flown to New York and arraigned in federal court on multiple charges to which they pleaded not guilty.
Rodríguez has since been working with the White House and has spoken with President Donald Trump by phone.
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Machado, however, voiced deep reservations about Rodríguez’s leadership, warning that the transition risks falling short without a broader break from the Maduro-era government.
“If Delcy Rodríguez stays, nothing truly changes,” she told the Post. “There will be no rule of law, no trust, no stability. Venezuelans will not come home under a criminal.”