Nobel Laureate Machado Praises Trump as a 'Champion of Freedom' for Venezuela, Says Maduro is 'Weaker Than Ever'

Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace laureate María Corina Machado said that she fully supports President Donald Trump's strategy toward Venezuela, arguing that increased U.S. pressure has left Nicolás Maduro's regime vulnerable and closer to collapse.

"We, the Venezuelan people, are very grateful to him and to his administration, because I believe he is a champion of freedom in this hemisphere," Machado said in an interview aired Sunday on CBS's Face the Nation, adding that Trump has made Venezuela "a priority for the United States national security," a shift she said the opposition had sought for years."That's why I believe the regime has its days numbered," she said.

Machado spoke to CBS News days after traveling to Norway to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, marking her first public appearance in nearly a year after living in hiding in Venezuela. She told the news site that she dedicated the award to Trump, citing what she described as decisive U.S. actions against the Maduro government, including sanctions, seizures of Venezuelan assets, and military pressure in the region.

"Maduro is weaker than ever," Machado said, pointing to divisions within the armed forces and police and what she described as growing unity among Venezuelans. She said the opposition favors "every legal action through law enforcement" by the United States and other countries to block what she called the regime's illegal activities, while acknowledging that sanctions carry economic risks for ordinary Venezuelans.

During press conferences in Oslo last week, Machado echoed similar views, saying that "the actions of President Trump have been decisive to reach the point where we are now," and that the Maduro government is "weaker than ever." At the same time, she avoided directly endorsing U.S. military intervention, instead calling on democratic countries to help block illicit financial flows that sustain the government.

In a separate interview with the BBC published on Trhusday, Machado again expressed appreciation for Trump and his administration. "We are very grateful to President Trump and his administration," she said, arguing that international recognition of Venezuela as both a dictatorship and a criminal structure had been overdue. She framed U.S. pressure as part of a broader effort to address regional security risks linked to migration, drug trafficking, and organized crime.

Asked whether she would welcome U.S. military action, Machado said she supports "more and more pressure" to convince Maduro to leave power but stressed that Venezuelans do not want war, adding that any transition should ultimately be negotiated once the cost of remaining in power outweighs the cost of stepping aside.

During her interview with CBS News, Machado accused the Maduro government of widespread human rights abuses and said that once it falls, large numbers of Venezuelan migrants would return home. "Our diaspora is desperate to go back to Venezuela," she said.