Venezuelan Opposition Leader Maria Corina Machado Calls for Elections After Maduro Capture

By Sandy Fitzgerald
Sunday, February 1, 2026

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado stated in an interview on Sunday that she will become president but emphasized the need for electoral democracy following the capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro.

“I will be president when the time comes,” she told a moderator named Margaret Brennan.

“But it doesn’t matter. That should be decided in elections by the Venezuelan people,” Machado added.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who presented her medal to former President Donald Trump last month, was banned from running against Maduro in 2024 and instead supported former diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez, recognized as the legitimate winner of the election.

“Maduro was afraid [of] running against me, and he thought Edmundo was not a threat, because nobody knew who he was,” Machado said.

“And in less than three months, we managed to [get] the whole country supporting him, because this is [a] matter of freedom,” she added.

Maduro remains in power as allegations persist that election results were rigged to keep him in office.

It is unclear when the next presidential election will be held in Venezuela, which for now is governed by interim President Delcy Rodriguez and remnants of the Maduro regime.

Maduro and his wife are detained in New York City, while Trump described the current Venezuelan leadership as “working with us so well.”

Trump has been dismissive of Machado taking power in Venezuela, stating in the hours after Maduro’s arrest that “she’s a very nice woman but she doesn’t have the respect.”

However, after Machado presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump while acknowledging his “historic” action of removing Maduro, Trump suggested, “Maybe we can get her involved in some way.”