Venezuelan Nobel laureate and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Sunday voiced support for the Donald Trump administration's pressure campaign against President Nicolas Maduro.
Machado's comments, which were aired on Sunday, comes amid increasing pressure by the Trump administration on the Maduro, with the latest action being the seizure of an oil tanker, which Venezuela decried as an act of "international piracy".
In an interview on CBS show 'Face the Nation', Machado, the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, said that she "absolutely" supported Washington's pressure on Maduro.
"I absolutely support President Trump's strategy, and we, the Venezuelan people, are very grateful to him and to his administration, because I believe he is a champion of freedom in this hemisphere," said the Venezuelan leader who won the prestigious honour that the US President had openly claimed to deserve.
Asked about potential US military intervention in Venezuela, the opposition leader said, "I will welcome more and more pressure so that Maduro understands that he has to go, that his time is over,"
Machado said she not just welcomed US pressure on Maduro, but also called on the entire international community to step in.
"We want every legal action through law enforcement approach, not only from the United States, also from other Caribbean, Latin American and European countries that further block the illegal activities of the regime," the Nobel laureate said.
"Why? Because we need to increase the cost of staying in power by force," she added.
Machado's comments were given from Oslo after she defied a 10-year travel ban to secretly depart Venezuela and collect her Nobel Prize.
Asked at a press conference in the Nordic capital whether she was open to US military intervention, the Nobel laureate had echoed what she told CBS, saying, “We are asking the world to help us.”
US-Venezuela tensions
The recent seizure of the oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela took place after a sustained campaign of US military strikes on alleged drug boats from the country.
So far, there have been over 20 US military strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific, which have killed over 90 people.
The Trump administration does not recognize Maduro, a known strongman, as the legitimate leader of Venezuela and alleges that the President heads a drug cartel.
Apart from the drug boat strikes, the US has also significantly increased its military presence in the Caribbean, with Trump threatening intervention on multiple occasions and even authorising operations by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
In addition, the US has also sanctioned several oil tankers linked to Maduro's family and has signalled that further seizures could be in order.
While Maduro has been in power since 2013, the opposition claims to have won the last election.
