Maria Corina Machado, Venezuela’s 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, appeals to U.S. President Trump for stronger action against Nicolás Maduro’s regime.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, recently awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, has called on U.S. President Donald Trump to intensify efforts to end what she described as President Nicolás Maduro’s “war” on Venezuela.
In an interview with on Wednesday October 22, 2025, Machado accused Maduro of running a “criminal narco-terrorism structure” and urged Washington to do more to dismantle his regime. “We need the help of the President of the United States to stop this war, because it is about human lives,” she said.
Her appeal comes as tensions escalate between Caracas and Washington, following a series of U.S. military strikes on boats off Venezuela’s coast that the Trump administration has described as targeting narco-trafficking vessels. The latest strike, on Tuesday October 21, 2025, reportedly killed six people.
The Trump administration has not publicly released evidence that the targeted vessels were linked to drug cartels, but officials say a classified legal opinion authorizes lethal action against a broad list of traffickers and networks deemed to threaten U.S. security. Trump confirmed he had also authorized CIA operations inside Venezuela, signaling that military activity could soon expand “by land.”
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Machado, who has lived in hiding since last year’s disputed election, welcomed the U.S. actions, claiming they are isolating Maduro’s government. She accused the Venezuelan leader of turning the country into a “real threat to the national security of the United States.”
“In the case of Maduro and his criminal narco-terrorism structure, it is supported through drug trafficking, gold trafficking, arms trafficking, even human trafficking,” Machado said. “We need to cut those flows from coming in.”
When asked whether she supported direct U.S. military intervention, Machado did not answer directly but said she wanted to see the influence of Russia, China, Cuba, and Iran curtailed in Venezuela. She argued that the country had become a “safe haven” for terrorist organizations and urged the international community to act decisively.
Machado also defended her position against critics who claim Venezuela’s role in drug trafficking has been overstated. Citing what she described as an FBI report from 2020, she said “24% of the global cocaine trade goes through Venezuela.”
Her comments come amid a broader debate over the United States’ strategy toward Venezuela, as Washington continues to pressure Maduro with sanctions and military operations while denying that regime change is its official goal.
