Nobel Laureate Maria Corina Machado on Regime Change in Venezuela

0:02Now, a special bonus episode of Up First. It's a conversation with the winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize from an undisclosed location as she continues to fear for her safety at the hands of Venezuela's ruling party. That's in just a moment.

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1:05So listen to the Fresh Air podcast from NPR and WHYY. When someone you love is diagnosed with cancer or another serious illness, all you want to do is help. But where do you start? On the Life Kit podcast, we have tips for you. Your agenda should be, I'm going to be with you and be totally present to whatever comes up. Listen in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts for different ways to offer support. The committee says she is, quote, one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times. That committee is the Nobel Committee, and they are referring to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, whom they have honored with 2025's Nobel Peace Prize.

1:53She's been in hiding since last year when Nicolas Maduro claimed victory in an election widely seen by independent experts as fraudulent. And she joins us now. Maria Karina Machado, congratulations. Thank you so much, Aisha. My pleasure. What was it like to receive that phone call? Were you expecting it? Of course not. Absolutely not. I'm still in shock. I think it's still unbelievable. Well, you have been shot at, targeted by federal prosecutors, banned from running for office. You are in hiding right now. Why stay in Venezuela when you can leave and rally the world to your cause? Well, first of all, because I only conceived my life in freedom and in my country, in Venezuela.

2:46And secondly, because I believe I'm much more useful for our cause here. close to our people. The main asset we've had during these long years is precisely the will of the people. Fortunately, we have these technology means nowadays that I can talk to you and millions around the world and leaders around the world and convey what's going on in Venezuela from here. And we're seeing that they are finally acting and supporting this cause. But at the end, this is an issue. The main issue here is the will of the Venezuelan people that was expressed using ballots, not bullets, ballots a year ago. And we won by a landslide in an election that was absolutely fraudulent in extreme unfair conditions.

3:36But we won because of the people. And now we will enforce this mandate of regime change very soon. You dedicated your Nobel to President Trump. Is that because you hope that he will help to force Maduro out? I dedicate it to the people of Venezuela and President Trump because I think it's the correct thing to do. Not only for what he has been doing in the last months to solve long and painful conflicts around the world, but precisely for what he's doing right now for the Americas. Because this is not only about Venezuela. I want you to assure something. Once Maduro goes and we liberate our country, the Cuban regime will follow, the Nicaraguan regime will follow.

4:27And for the first time in history, for the first time in history, we will have the Americas free of communism and narco dictatorships. The U.S. military has attacked small boats leaving Venezuela. It says they were carrying drugs, but it hasn't offered evidence to that effect. Do you support those strikes, even though they may amount to extrajudicial killings? Well, first of all, there is no doubt that Venezuela has turned the main channel of cocaine and drug trafficking in the region. So everybody knows that the Cartel de los Soles is one of the main criminal structures in the world. Maduro is the head of that cartel, and they have taken over the state.

5:14The cartel has taken control of everything, and it's torturing, destroying, persecuting millions of Venezuela. They have forced a third of our population to flee, and they are destabilizing intentionally the region and undermining the institutions in the United States because they have turned Venezuela into the safe haven of the enemies of the United States, Iran, China, Russia, Hezbollah, Hamas, and others. Do you think that those strikes then are justified in your eyes? I believe that you need to cut the flows of illegal criminal business the regime has. We have been asking for years, the international community, to stop those flows, to stop, you know.

6:04Are military strikes a good way to do that? Well, I think at this point, Maduro has a decision in his own hands. He can stop this process from escalating right now. The Maduro government is saying that the Trump administration is using these strikes as a pretext for regime change. Would you feel comfortable if the U.S. hit targets on Venezuelan soil? The history of U.S. intervention on the continent is not a happy one. Well, first of all, I want to be very clear with this. Regime change was already mandated by the Venezuelan people on July 28, 2024. We won by a landslide, the presidential election, and we proved it with over 85 % of the original tally sheets.

6:58He was defeated. So it is not regime change. What we're talking about is a transition to democracy. And this is a very important point because the narrative of the regime right now is that if Maduro goes, cows will come to Venezuela. That's absolutely false. Venezuela is in profound, total chaos right now. We are ready and we will handle a peaceful, smooth transition to democracy that will make millions of Venezuela that have been forced to flee to come immediately back to build their country. Do you want the U.S. to intervene using the military to bring democracy to Venezuela, as you are talking about?

7:50Look, you cannot have peace without freedom, and you cannot have freedom without strength when you are facing a criminal structure. Do you feel like Trump is a reliable ally? I mean, he still has a relationship with Maduro. Chevron is still in Venezuela. And Trump has worked, very hard to end the temporary protected status for 300 ,000 Venezuelans who fled to the U.S. to try to get away from the kind of Venezuelan leadership that you have long opposed. I have no doubt that President Trump has been clear in his message regarding the national security of the United States and the security of the Americas as a whole.

8:37And I think it is not only him, but the whole administration, a great team, assembled by people that truly understand the threats that pose the Maduro regime to the American people. And this is a win-win situation because, think of this, we will create a security shield in the heart of our continent. We will push out Iranians and Russians and terrorist groups, and we will dismantle the criminal networks such as the Trenderagua that have done so much harm, not only in the United States, but the whole region. But also we will open huge opportunities for business and investment. We're talking about over 1.7 trillion opportunity in only a few sectors.

9:23Venezuela is unique in terms of our natural endowments. And we're only three hours away from Florida. So this is huge from every perspective. And in addition to that, we will see the minute Maduro goes, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants coming back home. We need them. We want here. We want our children back home to build a prosperous, bright nation. When the committee called to tell you that you'd won, you said, I'm just one person. What is your message to the average person out there who think I'm just one person? What can I do to protect democracy? That's a super important question, Aisha, because I think that the main lesson that we have learned of Venezuelans during these long years is co-responsibility.

10:18This has to do with you. And, you know, we have been building trust among each other. We have teared down the barriers that the regime had built to divide Venezuela and society. But we have promoted and we have learned that it all depends on you, on the people. The people is not an abstract concept. It's made by millions of conscious citizens that understand that citizenship has to do with rights and duties. And I think this is a main lesson this generation has learned. And that's why I think that we will achieve freedom with a huge, huge cost, great pain. But there's no other generation in the history of Venezuela that values freedom, values being able to be and live in your country, and values family, having your family together and your children at home, as we do.

11:14from a cultural perspective, this is also a great threshold in our history. And for good, and for good, and for long, we are going to build institutions that I know that will last for centuries to come. That's Maria Corina Machado, winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. My pleasure.

11:44Today's bonus episode of Up First was produced by Samantha Balaban and edited by Ed McNulty. For more coverage and analysis of Maria Corina Machado, Nicolas Maduro, and the buildup of U.S. forces near Venezuela, visit our website, npr.org.

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