Exclusive interview with María Corina Machado: 'The Trump administration is pursuing the right strategy to dismantle' the Cartel de los Soles

In an exclusive interview with Voz News, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said that she is a member of the opposition. María Corina Machado stated that the Trump administration's maximum pressure strategy is "the right one" to dismantle the Cartel de los Soles, the drug trafficking and transnational crime network headed by dictator Nicolás Maduro and his second-in-command, Diosdado Cabello, both accused of trafficking and facilitating drug shipments to the United States.

"This is the right strategy to succeed in dismantling this tyranny that has not only done so much damage to the lives of Venezuelans, but has destabilized the entire region and that, in addition, aims to harm U.S. society and its institutions," Machado told journalist and executive producer of Voz, Karina Yapor.

During the conversation, Machado warned about how Venezuela, thanks to Maduro, has become a logistical and military arm of the Iranian regime, the only one of its kind in the region.

"The Maduro regime, narco-chavista, turned Venezuela into a satellite for Iran. Venezuela is the only country in this hemisphere where Iranian intelligence assault drones are produced. But, in addition, it turned Venezuela into a sanctuary, a great space for the transit of drugs. According to the DEA, 24% of the cocaine traded worldwide passes through Venezuela. Tons and tons reach the U.S."

On that path, the Venezuelan opposition leader showed optimism for how the Western hemisphere has begun to understand the criminal nature of the Maduro regime.

"There is awareness in the vast majority of the countries of the region that this threat has to be dismantled," Machado, who explained that "the total legitimacy is in the democratic forces," Venezuelan due to the resounding electoral victory of last July 28, 2024, when the candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, backed by Machado, overcame by wide margin the dictator Maduro, declared winner without evidence by the Venezuelan electoral authorities that respond to him.

Within the framework of the maximum pressure strategy that the White House is applying against Maduro and his entourage, which includes the increased bounty against the dictator and sending military vessels near Venezuelan shores in the Caribbean Sea to combat "narcoterrorism," Yapor asked Machado how seriously she thinks President Trump is going against Maduro. "Will President Trump cross the red line?"

Machado was cautious: "I am not going to speculate about the decisions that President Trump could make, but what corresponds is to stick to the facts, to what is happening. And what I can tell you, without a doubt, is that Maduro is worried."

Then, Machado fully endorsed the White House strategy to confront Maduro, especially the mobilization of warships to the Caribbean Sea.

"We are in favor of dismantling a criminal structure. This is not only a humanitarian issue for the persecuted Venezuelans who die day by day under the horror of this tyranny, but also a hemispheric security issue. We are in contact with numerous countries in the region and around the world to ensure that all necessary measures to enforce the law and dismantle this structure are taken effectively. We are pleased to see how this international coalition is growing, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced yesterday. That's why we are grateful to the president of the United States, very grateful to the Trump administration for carrying out the right strategy."

"We Venezuelans are very clear that these mobilizations are not against Venezuela or Venezuelans, but against a drug trafficking structure that is wreaking havoc and claiming hundreds of thousands of lives around the world," the opposition leader stressed. At the same time, she sent a message to those who fear that, without Maduro, Venezuela could become a failed state like some Middle Eastern countries that went through long periods of destabilization after regime changes.

"I know that there are many people in the U.S. and the world who are concerned because, in other cases, where there were regime changes by others, violence and chaos occurred. However, I believe that there is no more cohesive society in the world than Venezuela. Undoubtedly, the most cohesive in the hemisphere. More than 90% of Venezuelans want the same thing. Among Venezuelans, there are no differences in religious, racial, regional, ideological or social tensions. We all want the same thing, not only for Maduro to leave, but to build a country where there is justice, where we can live with dignity and where our children return home."

"The day Maduro leaves, millions of Venezuelans who are going to return from the U.S., Europe and Latin American countries to rebuild our country. We know what we have to do. We have our teams ready and plans in place for the first 100 hours and the first 100 days. It will be an orderly, peaceful and irreversible transition," Machado insisted, "Venezuela will be free and we are going to turn it into a great ally in security, energy and trade for the U.S. and the countries of America."

The opposition leader recalled that, on July 28, 2024, the Venezuelan Armed Forces showed mini-breaks that made evident Maduro's low popularity among Venezuelan troops. Specifically, in the electoral records collected by the opposition, it was recorded that there were voting areas where the majority of military personnel voted in favor of the opposition candidate, Gonzalez.

"In the police and military structure itself the repudiation of Maduro is total," Machado said. "Now they must decide whether to go down with Maduro or whether to save themselves by supporting the democratic transition. That is the dilemma facing every military."

In addition to the military, Machado sent a message to the world's governments, urging them to join Washington and its allies in intensifying pressure on the Maduro regime.

"History will be implacable with those who at this moment do the right thing, with those who do the wrong thing and with those who do nothing. And I say this not only to the military, but also to all the governments of this hemisphere. Because, in the end, you have to make a decision: either you are with the drug cartel, with a criminal structure and with a tyrant who commits crimes against humanity and state terrorism, or you are with the people of Venezuela, with justice and with the democracies that have expressed themselves in favor of the democratic transition of the country."