Maria Corina Machado, Venezuela's top opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, publicly endorsed President Donald Trump's recent military strikes on drug-running vessels linked to Nicolas Maduro, saying Trump is "stopping the war, ending the war" that Maduro started.
Fox News host Maria Bartiromo opened Sunday's interview by asking Machado whether Maduro is behind the smuggling vessels approaching U.S. waters.
"Oh, absolutely. Everybody knows Maduro is the head of the biggest drug cartel, Cartel of the Suns, also the head of the Tren de Aragua, a criminal network that has committed crimes in the U.S., Canada, down to Argentina and Chile." Machado said on "Sunday Morning Futures."
Machado is a prominent voice in Venezuela's opposition and has long urged international backing for measures targeting regime-connected crime.
When asked if she agreed with Trump's tactic of destroying these boats as they approach the U.S., Machado replied, "Maduro is the one who started the war. President Donald Trump is stopping the war, ending the war."
The interview took place as Trump ramps up pressure on Maduro's network.
Recent U.S. moves include bombing vessels off Venezuela alleged to be smuggling narcotics, deployment of a major aircraft carrier to the Caribbean, and labeling the Venezuelan-cartel nexus as part of a hemispheric security threat.
Analysts note these steps reflect the administration's broader America First posture, shifting toward regional security operations.
Machado explained why decisive U.S. action is necessary: "You have to cut the resources that come from drug trafficking, gold smuggling, arms smuggling, even human trafficking that Maduro heads and operates from Venezuela."
Machado asserted that Venezuela, under Maduro, has become a strategic base for hostile foreign powers. "He has been destroying the lives of millions of Venezuelan people and turned our country into a safe haven for Russian, Iranian forces, Cuban agents, Hezbollah, Hamas," she said.
Asked whether she fears retaliation, Machado replied, "Of course I fear for my life. I've been accused of terrorism as thousands and thousands of Venezuelan people, almost 1,000 political prisoners have been tortured, many have been even killed in prison.
"We need to advance into an orderly, peaceful transition to democracy from this chaos that Venezuela is today into order," she said.
Machado then offered a vision of Venezuela as a security partner for the U.S. "We will turn this criminal hub in the heart of the Americas into a security shield for the U.S. We will get rid of Russian and Iranian agents. We will dismantle the drug cartels.
"Venezuela will turn into the main energy ally ... from 1 million a day to millions of barrels [of oil] a day through American investment and creating jobs in Venezuela and also in the U.S."
She added, "90% of the population wants to live in peace, but peace requires freedom. And freedom requires strength."
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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