Caracas: Venezuela’s prominent opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, has pledged to return to her homeland as soon as possible, declaring her readiness to contest a free election following the U.S. capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
“I’m planning to go back to Venezuela as soon as possible,” Machado, 58, told Fox News. She praised former U.S. President Donald Trump for his role in Maduro’s arrest and said her movement is prepared to secure victory in free and fair elections, claiming they would win more than 90% of the vote.
Machado, who escaped Venezuela in disguise last October to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, cautioned that Socialist Party loyalists remain in power and that she is wanted for arrest in Venezuela. She criticized interim President Delcy Rodríguez as untrustworthy and a barrier to democratic and economic reform.
“With the country’s largest oil reserves and strategic potential, Venezuela can restore the rule of law, attract investment, and bring exiles home,” Machado said, outlining her vision for a democratic transition.
Meanwhile, Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty in a New York court to narcotics and weapons charges. The U.S. has placed interim authority in Rodríguez’s hands while considering private-sector assistance to revive Venezuela’s oil industry.
Amid heightened tensions, 14 media personnel were briefly detained in Caracas, and authorities fired warning shots into the night sky to deter unauthorised drones. Machado emphasized that the Venezuelan people are ready for democratic change and that her return will mark a decisive step toward a free election.
