{"id":230548,"date":"2026-01-06T14:49:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T14:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/230548\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T14:49:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T14:49:08","slug":"venezuelas-opposition-leader-vows-to-return-home-and-contest-fresh-elections-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/230548\/","title":{"rendered":"Venezuela\u2019s opposition leader vows to return home and contest fresh elections \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Venezuela\u2019s<\/a> main opposition leader Maria Corina Machado<\/a> has vowed to return home quickly, praising US president Donald Trump<\/a> for toppling her enemy Nicolas Maduro and declaring her movement ready to \u200dwin a free election.<\/p>\n

Mr Trump appears, however, to hope for now to work with interim president Delcy Rodriguez<\/a> and other senior officials from Mr Maduro\u2019s government, disappointing the opposition and contributing to the nervousness gripping Venezuela.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m planning to go back to Venezuela as soon as possible,\u201d said Ms Machado, 58, an industrial engineer and mother of \u200dthree who escaped from Venezuela in disguise in October to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, which she dedicated to Trump.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that this transition should move forward,\u201d she told Fox News in an interview. \u201cWe won an election (in 2024) by a landslide under fraudulent conditions. In free and fair elections, we will win over 90 per cent of the votes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms Machado said she had not spoken to Mr Trump since October 10, when the Nobel award was announced. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Why Trump has refused to back Venezuela\u2019s \u2018Iron Lady\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

He has said the United States needs to help address Venezuela\u2019s problems before any new elections, calling a 30-day timeline for a vote unrealistic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to fix \u200cthe country first. You can\u2019t have an election. There\u2019s no way the people could even vote,\u201d Trump told NBC.<\/p>\n

In the interview, her first since Mr Maduro was captured by the US at the weekend, Ms Machado did not give her location or any more details on plans \u2060to repatriate to Venezuela, where she is wanted for arrest and socialist party loyalists remain in power.<\/p>\n

Explainer<\/p>\n

Who is Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, Venezuela\u2019s ousted president? <\/p>\n

Maduro was born on November 23rd, 1962, son of a trade union leader. He worked as a bus driver during the time army officer \u200cHugo Chavez led a failed coup attempt in 1992.<\/p>\n

He campaigned for Chavez\u2019s release from prison \u2060and became a supporter of his leftist agenda. He won a seat \u200cin \u200bthe legislature \u200dfollowing Chavez\u2019s 1998 election.<\/p>\n

Chavez named him as \u2060his hand-picked successor. Maduro was narrowly elected president in 2013 following Chavez\u2019s \u2060death.<\/p>\n

Maduro\u2019s administration oversaw a spectacular \u2060economic collapse. His rule became known for allegedly rigged elections, food shortages and rights abuses. Millions of Venezuelans emigrated.<\/p>\n

He was sworn in for a third term in January 2025 following a 2024 election that was widely \u200ccondemned by observers \u200cand the opposition as fraudulent.<\/p>\n

His government\u2019s repressive measures were highlighted by the award of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.<\/p>\n

\"NicolásNicol\u00e1s Maduro at a news conference in Caracas, Venezuela, Sept. 15, 2025. Photo: Adriana Loureiro Fernandez\/The New York Times
\n Adriana Loureiro Fernandez <\/p>\n

To the dismay of the large diaspora \u2013 one in five Venezuelans have left during an economic implosion under Maduro and his predecessor \u200cHugo \u200bChavez \u2013 \u200dMr Trump has given little indication of backing Ms Machado.<\/p>\n

The opposition, some international observers and many US allies, say the opposition was cheated of victory in the 2024 election, from which Ms Machado was banned and an ally stood instead, but Mr Trump has said she lacks support in Venezuela.<\/p>\n

Ms Rodriguez is a diehard Maduro ally who has denounced his \u201ckidnapping\u201d while also calling for co-operation and respectful relations with Washington.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0\u2018I am a decent man. I am still president of my country,\u2019 Nicol\u00e1s Maduro tells US judgeOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cDelcy Rodriguez, as you know, is one of the main architects of torture, persecution, corruption, narco-trafficking,\u201d Ms Machado said. \u201cShe\u2019s a main ally and liaison of Russia, China, Iran, certainly not an individual who could be trusted by international \u2060investors and she\u2019s really rejected by the Venezuelan people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms Machado, who has galvanised an often fractured and demoralised opposition in the last few years, said she would give Mr Trump the Nobel Prize personally.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has proven to the world what he \u2060means. January 3rd will go down in history as the day justice defeated a tyranny,\u201d \u2060she said of Saturday\u2019s raid on Venezuela.<\/p>\n

She thanked him for \u201chis courageous vision, the historical actions he has taken against this narco-terrorist regime\u201d, and said: \u201cIt\u2019s a huge step towards a democratic transition.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the world\u2019s largest oil reserves and the US as its main ally, Venezuela would become the energy hub of the Americas, restore rule of law, open markets, bring exiles home and provide security to foreign investment, Ms Machado \u200dsaid.<\/p>\n

Trump has, however, been told by the CIA that Ms Rodriguez and other senior officials from Mr Maduro\u2019s government are the best bet to maintain stability, sources said.<\/p>\n

\"ArmedArmed supporters of ousted Venezuelan president Nicol\u00e1s Maduro stand guard in Caracas. Photograph: Pedro Mattey\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

The authorities have ordered the arrest of anyone who collaborated with the seizure of Mr Maduro and 14 media workers were briefly detained covering events in Caracas on Monday.<\/p>\n

Footage showed shots being fired on Monday night into the sky in Caracas, which a Venezuelan official said came from police to deter unauthorised drones.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no confrontation, the entire country remains completely calm,\u201d vice minister of communications Simon Arrechider told reporters.<\/p>\n

With nearly 900 political prisoners still behind bars according to a leading local rights group, Machado\u2019s Vente Venezuela movement demanded on Monday that they be released immediately as a first step towards restoring democracy.<\/p>\n

Mr Maduro, 63, pleaded not guilty on Monday to narcotics charges. He said he was a \u201cdecent man\u201d and still president of Venezuela while standing in a Manhattan court shackled at the ankles and wearing orange and beige prison garb.<\/p>\n

He is accused of overseeing a cocaine-trafficking network with international cartels. He has long denied the allegations, saying they were a \u200cmask for imperialist designs on oil.<\/p>\n

Venezuela has the largest \u200creserves \u2013 about 303 billion barrels, mostly hard-to-extract heavy oil. But the sector has long been in decline from mismanagement, underinvestment and US sanctions, averaging 1.1 million bpd output last year, a third of its output in the 1970s and much less than producers such as the United States, Saudi Arabia and Russia. <\/p>\n

Maduro\u2019s vice-president, Rodriguez, has been sworn in as interim leader \u2013 and Venezuela\u2019s first woman head of state \u2013 as government officials \u200cwaver between angry defiance and potential co-operation with Trump. He has threatened another military strike if they displease him.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s actions, the biggest US intervention in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama, have brought condemnation from Russia, China and Venezuela\u2019s leftist allies. <\/p>\n

Legal experts have questioned its validity and many \u2060allies have urged adherence to international laws and dialogue.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sends a signal that the powerful can do whatever they like,\u201d the UN human rights office said on Tuesday in the latest expression of international concern.<\/p>\n

Mr Trump has said the US is now in charge of Venezuela and will help revive its oil industry with the help of private companies. He has floated the idea of military intervention in Colombia and Mexico also.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe history of Latin America is clear and compelling: intervention has never brought democracy, never generated wellbeing, nor lasting stability,\u201d said Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum. \u2013 Reuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Venezuela\u2019s main opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has vowed to return home quickly, praising US president Donald Trump…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":230549,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[969,42,43,92550,40,38,41,39,90,92549],"class_list":["post-230548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-donald-trump","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-nicolas-maduro","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-us","tag-venezuela"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230548"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230548\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}