The recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize 2025 has called for more Venezuela-like campaigns against countries like Cuba and Nicaragua, drawing strong online criticism.
Speaking to reporters in Washington, Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado stated that the US could free states from communism.
“Venezuela will be free. And once we liberate Venezuela, we will keep working, and we will have a free Cuba and a free Nicaragua. And as you were saying, for the first time in history, we have the Americas free of communism, of dictatorship, of anarchism.”
The controversial statement comes weeks after the United States launched “Operation Absolute Resolve” against Venezuela.
In the dead of the night on January 3, 2026, nearly 150 US Air Force aircraft, including fighter jets, rotary-wing aircraft, and drones, entered the capital city of Caracas, “extracted” serving President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, from a heavily-defended military compound, all within a span of less than two-and-a-half hours without suffering any casualties.
The operation brought jubilation to the Machado-led opposition camp, which had been at the forefront of challenging Maduro’s dictatorship.
However, the Nobel Peace Prize winner’s comments suggesting military action against other states with socialist governments have generated significant online interest. Some pro-democracy netizens on X supported her views, calling them “poetic justice” and further supporting her narrative of freeing the Western Hemisphere from Communism.
🇻🇪 MARÍA CORINA MACHADO: NO MORE COMMUNIST DICTATORS
“We will have the Americas free of Communism, dictatorship and narco-terrorism!
And once we liberate Venezuela, we will keep working and we will have a free Cuba and a free Nicaragua!”pic.twitter.com/u89JfhZXju
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) January 21, 2026
However, the Venezuelan opposition leader also faced some intense criticism when many of them referred to her as a “hypocrite”.
“How did this woman win the Nobel PEACE prize? Because she’s a pathetic puppet of the gang, deliberately confusing tyranny with freedom to justify further conquest of the Americas in line with a very long-term plan,” said a user with nearly 800,000 followers.
“María Corina Machado, who returned her peace prize to the very man responsible for attacking her homeland, now warns that Cuba and Nicaragua could be targeted by U.S. actions next. She asserts that the Americas will be “free of dictatorship,” even as she backs the same U.S. leader whose policies assert control over the region,” wrote an independent news company on X.
While allies have called Maduro a dictator, they have signalled concerns over his illegal detention by Washington.
Meanwhile, Beijing described it as a “clear violation of international law,” a “blatant use of force,” and a “hegemonic act” that seriously violates Venezuela’s sovereignty, basic norms of international relations, and the UN Charter.
Russia, on the other hand, called it an “unacceptable act of armed aggression,” an “unacceptable encroachment on the sovereignty of an independent state,” and a breach of international legal norms.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the Trump administration wants a regime change in Cuba by the end of this year, and is aggressively looking for government insiders in Havana who are prepared to reach an agreement with Washington.
Citing some insider sources, the report said that although the administration does not have a concrete plan, the abduction of Nicolas Maduro by the US military has “left behind as a blueprint and a warning for Cuba”.
Earlier, Trump had warned Cuba on his Truth Social saying, “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”
Responding to the threat, the Cuban PresidentMiguel Diaz-Canel, said Cuba was a “free, independent, and sovereign” country and would defend itself “to the last drop of blood”.
Machado’s calls for extending Venezuela-style campaigns to Cuba and Nicaragua reflect a broader ideological commitment to regional democratization and opposition to communism. She has consistently framed the political struggles in Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua as interconnected, viewing all three as authoritarian regimes closely allied with one another.
Machado, a fierce critic of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, won the Nobel Peace Prize award in 2025 for her campaign for greater democracy in her country. However, she visited the White House on January 15 and presented the coveted award to US President Donald Trump.
A photo was subsequently published by the White House showing a large, wall-ready, gold-framed plaque that Trump was seen holding next to Machado.
The dedication along the medal read: “Presented as a personal symbol of gratitude on behalf of the Venezuelan people in recognition of President Trump’s principled and decisive action to secure a free Venezuela.”
Announcing the honour on his Truth Social, Trump said, “Maria presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect.”
However, even this gesture drew widespread criticism.
“History repeats: In 1943, fascist Norwegian author Knut Hamsun won a Nobel prize. He loved the Nazis so much that he gave it to Hitler’s propaganda chief, Joseph Goebbels, as a gift. Venezuela’s far-right extremist opposition leader María Corina Machado did the same with Trump,” journalist Ben Norton wrote on X.
Following the meeting with Trump, Machado later told Fox News that the handover was a very emotional moment for her.
“It was a huge responsibility, because I did it on behalf of the Venezuelan people,” Machado said in an interview. However, she also stated: “I want to serve my country,” she said. “I believe I will be elected when the right time comes, as President of Venezuela. The first woman president of Venezuela.”
Machado was barred from running against Nicolás Maduro in the presidential elections and went into hiding amid threats to her safety. In December 2025, she left Venezuela to travel to Oslo and accept the Nobel Peace Prize, which she dedicated to Donald Trump.
However, when asked earlier this month whether Machado would be chosen to lead Venezuela, Trump dismissed the idea, saying it would be very tough for her. “She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect within the country.”
While the US already backs Edmundo González for the Presidential election, the decision to sideline Machado has surprised many.
“I was very surprised to hear the disqualification of María Corina Machado by President Trump,” Kevin Whitaker, former deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Caracas, told the BBC. “Her movement was massively elected… and so disqualifying Machado, in effect, disqualified that whole movement.”
Instead, Delcy Rodríguez, who had served as Venezuela’s vice president under Maduro since 2018, was sworn in as the nation’s interim president days after the former leader was deposed. Delcy is the daughter of a former Marxist guerrilla and is often referred to as a “Chavista revolutionary”, in reference to the former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
After she was sworn in as acting President, Trump warned that the former Vice President could “pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro” if she did not concede to his wishes.
On her part, Rodríguez has offered to work with the US, dialling down the previous hostility.
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