Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado speaks during a press conference at the government’s representative facilities in Oslo, Norway, on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025.
Stian Lisberg Solum/Pool NTB Scanpix via AP
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Stian Lisberg Solum/Pool NTB Scanpix via AP
After Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were captured overnight in the capital Caracas, questions remain about who will lead the country.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who recently won the Nobel Peace Prize, has called for Edmundo Gonzalez to be recognized as the country’s rightful leader. He was widely seen in the country as the legitimate winner of the 2024 presidential election.
Who is Machado?
Machado rose to global prominence last year when she won the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize.
She has been a vocal critic of Maduro’s party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), since it first took power under founder Hugo Chávez in the 1998 presidential election. The Nobel Committee recognized Machado for “his struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
Her outspoken criticism of Maduro’s authoritarian regime has earned her the nickname “Iron Lady” among her supporters.
Machado has praised President Trump as his administration has carried out deadly attacks in the Caribbean Sea against Venezuelan boats, which he accuses of drug trafficking.
He dedicated his Nobel Prize to the US President and has repeatedly expressed his support for the United States’ pressure campaign against Maduro, citing the collapsing political and economic system within Venezuela that has forced 20% of its residents to flee the country.
Despite his popularity among many Venezuelans, Trump said on Saturday that he had not been in contact with Machado since the military attacks in Caracas and that he did not see him as a viable candidate to lead the country.
“I think it will be very difficult for him to remain a leader. He doesn’t have support or respect within the country,” he told reporters during a press conference. “She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect to be a leader.”
Trump said the United States would “run” Venezuela until “just changes are made.”
Machado praised Maduro’s arrest in a statement on Saturday, writing that he “will face international justice for the brutal crimes he has committed against Venezuelans and citizens of many other countries.”
“By refusing to walk out of negotiations, the United States government has kept its promise to uphold the law,” he wrote.
Machado added: “We have fought for years, we have given everything, and it has been worth it. What was meant to happen is happening.”
The presidential elections in Venezuela in 2024 were closely monitored. Machado was barred from running in the race by the Maduro regime, but threw his support behind fellow opposition member González.
International election monitors, including the United States, say Maduro manipulated the ballot results to steal a third term in office and continue his dictatorial rule.
On Saturday, Machado called on Venezuelans to unite around Gonzalez and recognize him as the legitimate president of the crisis-hit nation.
“Today we are ready to implement our mandate and take power. Let us remain alert, active and organized until the democratic transition is finalized. A change we all need.”
Although Machado has devoted Venezuelan supporters, the former lawmaker for the Venezuelan National Assembly is banned from running for office by Maduro’s government and was recently forced to flee — with the assistance of US military veterans successfully escorting him to Europe.
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