On the same day that she received the distinguished award, opposition leader María Corina Machado spoke with the director of EL MUNDO, a newspaper that, in its commitment to freedom and democracy, has led the reporting of Venezuela with the help of its correspondent, Daniel Lozano.
THE WORLD
El Mundo: From hiding, somewhere in Venezuela, María Corina Machado. Congratulations. Today is a day of celebration and jubilation. What does this recognition from the international community mean to you and the people of Venezuela?
Machado: This is a very important day for Venezuelans. We feel that the world has indeed recognized the heroic deeds of a society that has faced a criminal, perverse, and unscrupulous regime that has destroyed all Venezuelan institutions and families for 26 years. But there has also been a brave, organized people who have resisted with enormous courage and love. And we are, for me, on the threshold of freedom. And this, of course, is an injection of energy, of support, and of backing at the most important moment.
El Mundo: This morning, people close to Edmundo González told EL MUNDO that during the phone call you told him: I need someone to hug me. María Corina, you have lived in hiding for many months, under threats from the regime. How do you lead a civic movement like this, in solitude, in invisibility, without faltering?
Machado: Yes, this morning I was saying to Edmundo: Never in these last 12 months have I needed to have someone by my side pinch me, because I don't believe it. Indeed, this is a challenge because the nature of our work has been to be immersed in thousands and thousands and thousands of people all the time. And, on top of that, always in very close contact. The truth is that for us it was a monumental challenge to reinvent ourselves. We had to innovate and trust each other. The essence of this unprecedented and historic movement that exists in Venezuela, of which I am one of millions, is trust. Trust and love for freedom, for our land, and for our family.
El Mundo: More than a year has passed since your historic electoral victory on July 28th and that massive fraud. You already said then, with the confidence you speak of, that there was no turning back and that you would see it through to the end. Today, with the Nobel Prize, the international community finally recognizes that Venezuela is a brutal and authoritarian state. Are Venezuelans also emerging from their international isolation today?
Machado: I feel that we are very much accompanied today, that the peoples of Latin America and Europe are with us. The Spanish people above all, who unite us by so many cultural and historical ties of language, religion, and so many values. But today we are also seeing powerful governments around the world that stand with us. I feel that the fact that this recognition of the Venezuelan people has occurred in this context sends an unequivocal signal to the entire world about the nature of the regime, about the courage that Venezuelan society has shown, but above all about the urgency of international action to support our struggle. And I have no doubt that the freedom of Venezuela is very close.
El Mundo: You dedicated the award to Donald Trump, who leads one of those powerful governments that you say supports the struggle of the Venezuelan people. Within the international action you just mentioned, what do you expect from Trump and the US government?
Machado: I have dedicated this award to the Venezuelans and to President Trump because today he embodies and leads international support to ensure that a criminal structure that uses endless sources of criminal resources to repress and persecute Venezuelan society is deprived of them. As criminals, the moment they begin to run out of funds, they collapse, and we have been asking for this to happen for years. These are resources that come from drug trafficking, from blood gold, from arms trafficking, from human trafficking, from the black market in oil and fuel. Unfortunately, there are many governments that look the other way and have used the financial systems, even those of European countries, as the final destination for these illicit funds that enrich and aggrandize themselves at the cost of hunger and death of Venezuelans. So I feel that the United States decided to take the correct position and say that it is a criminal structure, that law and order must be applied, that this is a matter of hemispheric and national security. And only then do these systems understand that, for their own good, they have to leave. The only person responsible for what's happening here is Nicolás Maduro. And he has to choose whether to leave with negotiations or without negotiations, but he will leave. El Mundo: The award will be presented on December 10 in Oslo. Will you be able to collect it in person?
Machado: God knows that, but I also assure you that we are doing everything for that, among many other things. Because moments of light are approaching for Venezuela, and it is a light that will be reflected in shock waves. The liberation of Venezuela will bring the liberation of Cuba and Nicaragua. I have a personal lifelong commitment to Cubans and Nicaraguans, but it will also have consequences in many other countries, including Spain.
