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"Himbo said Machado told him she accepted the prize in his honor."
If you don't get it, steal it.
On 10/11/2025 7:28 AM, Noah Sombrero wrote:
"Himbo said Machado told him she accepted the prize in his honor."
If you don't get it, steal it.
Mar0a Corina Machado
@MariaCorinaYA
"We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count
on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of
Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal >allies to achieve Freedom and democracy.
I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to
President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!"
https://x.com/MariaCorinaYA/status/1976642376119549990
What's genuinely creepy is the attempt to deny her statement.--
On 10/11/2025 7:28 AM, Noah Sombrero wrote:
"Himbo said Machado told him she accepted the prize in his honor."
If you don't get it, steal it.
Mar|!a Corina Machado
@MariaCorinaYA
"We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count
on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of
Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve Freedom and democracy.
I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to
President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!"
https://x.com/MariaCorinaYA/status/1976642376119549990
What's genuinely creepy is the attempt to deny her statement.
On 10/11/2025 10:30 AM, Wilson wrote:
On 10/11/2025 7:28 AM, Noah Sombrero wrote:
"Himbo said Machado told him she accepted the prize in his honor."
If you don't get it, steal it.
Mar0a Corina Machado
@MariaCorinaYA
"We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count
on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of
Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal
allies to achieve Freedom and democracy.
I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to
President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!"
https://x.com/MariaCorinaYA/status/1976642376119549990
What's genuinely creepy is the attempt to deny her statement.
https://www.thefp.com/p/the-woman-who-took-on-a-dictator-and-won-a-nobel-peace-prize
On Friday in Oslo, Venezuelan opposition leader Mar0a Corina Machado was >awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Machado, who has been in hiding ever--
since last yearAs fraudulent elections, is widely regarded as the force >keeping the countryAs opposition alive in the face of Nicolbs MaduroAs >increasingly authoritarian regime. Machado, the committee said, is a
obrave and committed champion of peace,o who okeeps the flame of
democracy burning amid a growing darkness.o
MachadoAs story is a political thriller come to life. A 58-year-old >industrial engineer and former member of parliament, she spent two
decades as the most relentless opponent of Hugo Chbvez and his
successor, Nicolbs Maduro.
Once derided by the regime as la dama de hierro (the Iron Lady), she was >banned from running in the presidential election. She then named a proxy
and led a grassroots campaign that united the countryAs shattered >opposition, drawing millions of Venezuelans to the polls in July 2024
and winning a landslide victory.
But MaduroAs regime seized power anyway, and began accelerating its >crackdown on dissent. Fourteen months later, Machado is in an
undisclosed location and fears for her life. She still addresses her >followers through encrypted video messages and clandestine radio >transmissions, seeking to oust the undemocratic regime that has
transformed Venezuela into a hub of international crime.
And now, sheAs been elevated to the global stage. Following the Nobel >announcement, Machado wrote on X: oThis recognition of the struggle of
all Venezuelans is a boost to conclude our task: to conquer Freedom.o
She continued: o[T]oday, more than ever, we count on President Trump,
the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the >democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve
Freedom and democracy.o
In recent months, Americans have watched their government edge closer to >confrontation with Caracas. Under the banner of combating drug
smuggling, the Trump administration has deployed at least eight ships >carrying more than 4,000 personnel to the waters off Venezuela, and sent >F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico. It has bombed boats accused of
ferrying cocaine on behalf of the regimeua move that many say is >unconstitutional. And it has doubled the reward for information leading
to the arrest of Maduro to $50 million, calling him oone of the largest >narco-traffickers in the world.o
U.S. military officials are now drawing up options to target drug >traffickers inside Venezuela, with strikes within the countryAs borders >potentially beginning in a matter of weeks, according to four sources
cited by NBC News. Is this just a counternarcotics operation, as the >administration claims? For many Venezuelans, it is more than that; itAs
a sign that the worldAs most powerful democracy is finally treating
MaduroAs regime as what they believe it to beua criminal syndicate, not
a sovereign government.
Last week, before she had become a Nobel laureate, I spoke with Machado
via Zoom. It was a rare, wide-ranging conversation about the present and >future of her countryuand what she wants the Trump administration, and
the American people, to do to support her opposition movementAs fight >against Maduro. Below is a lightly edited transcript of our conversation.
Jonathan Jakubowicz: Americans today are allergic to foreign wars. After
the debacles in Iraq and Afghanistan, the very mention of ointerventiono >sets off alarms across both the right and the left. Why should the U.S. >government be involved in Venezuela?
Mar0a Corina Machado: Venezuela is not Iraq or Afghanistan. ItAs three
hours from the United States, with open access to the Caribbean, and it
has been taken over by a narco-terrorist regime allied with the WestAs
worst adversariesuRussia, Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and powerful drug
cartels. TheyAve turned our territory, institutions, and resources into
an operational base for global crime: cocaine routes, gold trafficking, >weapons smuggling, and human exploitation. Their goal is to weaken
Western democracies, including the United States, from within.
This is not a distant or ideological issueuitAs a matter of U.S.
national security. Allowing a criminal state of this scale and proximity
to consolidate power poses a direct and growing threat to the entire >hemisphere.
Now imagine the opposite: a free and democratic Venezuela. One that
becomes a strategic ally in the fight against narco-terrorism, a
reliable energy and trade partner, and a regional catalyst for >stabilityuaccelerating the collapse of totalitarian regimes in Cuba and >Nicaragua while blocking China, Russia, and Iran from expanding their
reach in the Americas.
So when the United States decides to act, it isnAt ointervening in >Venezuela.o ItAs defending the hemisphereuits people, its borders, and
its values. A free Venezuela doesnAt just make the region safer; it >strengthens the very foundations of the free world.
JJ: For anyone not familiar with the situation, this might sound like an >exaggeration.
MCM: They only need to listen to the Drug Enforcement Administration,
which has documented that nearly a quarteru24 percentuof the worldAs
cocaine passes through Venezuela. Or to the FBI, which has identified
Tren de Aragua, a transnational terrorist group run directly by Nicolbs >Maduro, as a major threat to the American people. These criminal
structures now operate across the Americas, from Canada to Argentina.
They actively undermine U.S. security. No other adversary of the United >States has that kind of direct, on-foot access to American territory.
JJ: But an isolationist might argue that it would be enough for America
to secure its border. Why go overseas to fight for regime change?
MCM: The isolationist argument for solely securing the U.S. border is >fundamentally flawed because the threat from Venezuela is not a
traditional overseas problem; itAs a criminal and security threat that
has already projected itself across the hemisphere and directly
threatens U.S. stability.
The term oregime changeo is misleading. Control over Venezuela was
already mandated by the people through the 2024 elections. The issue is
that a Maduro-allied criminal organization, known as the Cartel de los >Soles, is actively refusing to yield power and has violently seized
control of a nation that was historically one of the United StatesA
closest allies.
Decades before countries like Spain, South Korea, or Portugal shed
military dictatorships, Venezuela already had a stable democracy. No one
has to teach Venezuelans how democratic institutions work. The current >cartel seized power only through the gradual dismantling of those >institutions and brutal repression, not due to a lack of democratic culture.
Ignoring the problem allows this narco-terrorist hubuallied with Russia, >Iran, and Hezbollahuto guarantee continuous, escalating border and
security crises for the U.S. Fighting the criminal regime in Venezuela
is the most effective form of forward defense, securing American
interests, and stabilizing the hemisphere.
We want democracyuone that guarantees the freedom to work, to create, to >speak without fear. A nation where life is lived with dignity and guided
by justice, solidarity, and the strength of family.
JJ: But isnAt there a risk that it can turn into another quagmire?
MCM: No, on the contrary! It will be a transition from current chaos to >order and the rule of law. It will be an orderly transition for several >compelling reasons.
First, I daresay there is no other society in the hemisphere with
greater cohesion than the Venezuelan one. The vast majority of
Venezuelans want the same thing: to be able to live with dignity, with >opportunities, and with our children back home. This is only possible
after the Maduro regime is gone.
Second, the rejection of Maduro within the Armed Forces and the police
is immense. The Venezuelan Armed Forces were decisive in our electoral >victory in July 2024. Every voting center was protected by them, and in
all of them, the military collaborated so that our teams obtained
original copies of the tally sheets that demonstrated our victory. Even
in the precincts where the military themselves voted, we won by the same >overwhelming margins as the rest of the nation. That tells you where
their loyalties truly lie. They are with the Venezuelan peopleubut they
live in constant fear, under surveillance, with many tortured or killed
at the slightest suspicion of dissent.
The reality is that repression is enforced not by the rank and file, but
by a minuscule high command and a few thousand loyal subordinates. The
vast majority of the Armed Forces and police are waiting for the moment
when they can stand with us. They will be the first to help us pacify
the country once Maduro is gone. We have already identified every
irregular groupucartels, guerrillas, and paramilitariesuand we have a
plan for a peaceful transition back to constitutional democracy.
JJ: Would it be that easy?
MCM: Not easy. Complex. And challenging. But the reason eight million >Venezuelansunearly 30 percent of our populationuhave fled the country is
not civil war or armed conflict. It is the direct result of catastrophic >economic policies that left us poorer than Haiti, and the brutal
repression of anyone who dares to hope for freedom and change.
But unlike the nations where the U.S. has intervened in the Middle East, >Venezuela has a cohesive populationuone that shares language, religion, >race, and culture. A nation far closer to the United States than any
other in South America. We play more baseball than soccer. You can buy a
hot dog on every corner. Our people have never regarded the United
States as an enemy. And you can see proof of this in the Venezuelans who
are thriving in the United Statesufrom the former president of MIT to >Silicon Valley founders, Emmy and Grammy winners, Oscar nominees, Major >League Baseball superstars, and Triple Crownuwinning jockeys.
We are a nation overflowing with talent. And for the first time in our >history, almost all of us are politically and socially aligned. We want >democracyuone that guarantees the freedom to work, to create, to speak >without fear. A nation where life is lived with dignity and guided by >justice, solidarity, and the strength of family.
JJ: Why is everyone so politically aligned now?
MCM: Because the reality is unbearable. Eighty-six percent live in
poverty. More than 70 percent in critical poverty. Retirees survive on
$1 a month. Children attend school an average of two days a weekuand
grow up with the highest malnutrition rates in the hemisphere. ItAs not
hard to see this is unsustainable.
JJ: Are those numbers the reason for the mass migration?
MCM: Yes. And the lack of future and freedom. But democracy in Venezuela >will reverse that migration. You will see millions of Venezuelans
returning home. When I spent months campaigning across the country, I
heard the same cry everywhere: We want our children to come back home.
One man stopped me once, his eyes filled with tears, and said: oYou are
the last hope I have of ever seeing my children again.o I hugged him and >told him the truth: that heuand people like himuwere my only hope of
seeing my own children return. That moment became the heart of my entire >campaign.
We are a nation that loves family. Rich or poor, old and younguit
doesnAt matter. We all want the same thing: for our children to come
home, to stay home, and for those who have built lives abroad to be able
to visit, to reunite, and to help rebuild our future.
Our families have been torn apart not by war, but by hunger and lack of >opportunity. And itAs not just our tragedy. Every country in the
Americas feels the weight of our exodus.
JJ: Families are important, but people need to eat. How would you entice >them to come back?
MCM: Business opportunities. Venezuela has the potential to become the >energy hub of the Americas. We hold the largest oil reserves in the >worldugreater than Saudi ArabiaAs. We have the eighth-largest reserves
of natural gas, and the fifth-largest of gold. Great coasts and >infrastructure. These are not abstract figures; they are the foundation
of a transformation.
Imagine a $1.7 trillion business opportunity in diverse sectors,
igniting almost overnight, fueled by energy, minerals, and the talent of >millions of Venezuelans returning home. That prosperity wonAt just be >oursuit will ripple across the Americas. It will mean cheaper, more
secure energy for the United States. It will mean stability for the
region. For investors and entrepreneurs, Venezuela will be the hub of a
new era of growth, innovation, and opportunity.
JJ: ItAs easy to imagine what Venezuela could become. WhatAs harder to >imagine is the spark that makes it possible. What does America need to
do to help enable that change?
MCM: WeAve asked the international community to cut off the cartelAs
money supply. The dollars Maduro receives from drug trafficking, from >black-market oil sales, from money launderinguthat flow needs to stop.
Only then will he understand that time is up, and his best option is to >accept terms for a negotiated exit. Right now, Maduro still tells his
inner circle that the United States is bluffing. The only way to change
his perception is to increase pressure and send a clear message that he
has to go.
There is an impressive international coalition focused on combating the >Maduro regimeuled by the United States, and joined by the UK, France,
the Netherlands, and many Caribbean and Latin American nations. It sends
the right message. But as long as Maduro believes the world is bluffing,
he wonAt accept it is time to go.
JJ: WeAve just seen President Trump lay out a plan for Gaza that
includes a form of amnesty for terrorists who surrender their weapons
and leave to places where they wonAt be harmed. Would you offer
something similar to members of MaduroAs Cartel de los Soles?
MCM: We have always said we are open to serious, verifiable negotiations
and to offering guarantees to those who facilitate a peaceful
transition. I canAt go into operational details now, but the answer is
yes: We are prepared to discuss arrangements that help end the violence
and restore the rule of law. What those who today hold power must
understand is that their position is far weaker than it was a year
agouand it will continue to erode. Every day they delay makes any future >negotiation more costly for them; waiting only narrows their options.
JJ: Would you say the only thing stopping this transition is their
inability to recognize that their time is up?
MCM: I believe many of them already know their time is up. And thatAs >precisely why weAre seeing what weAre seeing inside the regime.
JJ: What are we seeing?
MCM: Desperation. Fear. Betrayal. Paranoia. They spy on each other,
inform on each other, and quietly prepare escape plans to save their own >skinueven if it means giving up their closest allies. ThatAs why I say
there is no going back. Yes, there are still radicals willing to
sacrifice themselves before letting Venezuela be free. But they are
fewer every day, increasingly isolated. And the firmer and more united
the international community remains, the faster this process will move
to its inevitable conclusion.
JJ: What do you say to those who have given up hopeuand who think what >youAre describing is impossible?
MCM: We already did the impossible. We defeated them under their own >rulesuwithout money, with more than a million volunteersuand we proved
to the world that we won the election in a landslide. In response,
Maduro declared war on Venezuelans. But this country does not belong to
him. It belongs to its people; courageous, hardworking, family loving
and profoundly religious.
And even though Venezuelans have known nothing but socialism, we
strongly want to live in an open society that respects private
initiative and property, where no one begs the state for crumbs, but
lives proudly from their work. Imagine what will happen when that lock
is finally broken. You will see an explosion of energy, of creativity,
of entrepreneurship. You will see the rebirth of a nation.
But you will also see something more: the creation of the tech hub of
the Americas, a country that will, at last, offer the conditions to
build, with rule of law, respect for property, incentives for
entrepreneurs, and an efficient, accountable government. And that
national revival will not only transform us, it will inspire the world.
JJ: You mention socialism. Believe it or not, there is a generation of >Americans today who are flirting with socialism. And when Venezuela is >raised as a warning, they say: That wasnAt real socialism. Are they wrong?
MCM: Twenty-six years ago, Venezuelan youth fell in love with a
socialist in Hugo Chbvez. When people pointed to Cuba as a warning, they >said, oVenezuela is not Cuba. And Cuba is not real socialism.o But here
we areuworse than Cuba.
Socialism always follows the same pattern. It elevates the state above
the citizen, strips away your autonomy, your conscience, your dignity,
your ability to choose. And it does so with a seductive lie. It whispers
of equality, but the only equality it delivers is at the bottomuwhere >everyone is dragged down together. That has been the case in every
nation, on every continent, in every culture where it has been tried.
The result is always the same: a gigantic state that crushes the people >beneath it, and once it takes hold, is terribly hard to remove.
Only free societiesuwhere the individual comes firstucan nurture both >liberty and the responsibility that sustains it. Because freedom without >responsibility decays, and responsibility without freedom is tyranny.
But when merit becomes the path to rise, when effort and creativity are >rewarded, then every citizen is called to succeeduthe whole nation rises >together.
That is what we want for Venezuela. And it is why I say to the American >people: Do not be seduced. Socialism is the sexiest path to losing your >freedom. Guard your freedom jealously. Defend it fiercely. Because
freedom is not just an American promiseuit is the hope of the world.
On Sat, 11 Oct 2025 11:05:24 -0400, Wilson <Wilson@nowhere.invalid>
wrote:
On 10/11/2025 10:30 AM, Wilson wrote:
On 10/11/2025 7:28 AM, Noah Sombrero wrote:
"Himbo said Machado told him she accepted the prize in his honor."
If you don't get it, steal it.
Mar0a Corina Machado
@MariaCorinaYA
"We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count >>> on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of
Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal >>> allies to achieve Freedom and democracy.
I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to
President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!"
https://x.com/MariaCorinaYA/status/1976642376119549990
What's genuinely creepy is the attempt to deny her statement.
https://www.thefp.com/p/the-woman-who-took-on-a-dictator-and-won-a-nobel-peace-prize
She is a great defender of v. She still does not say that she
accepted the award "in honor of" himbo. I say she deserves the award
and himbo does not.
I disagree with some of her politics, but that is not the point. I--
agree that intervention in foreign politics has not worked out as
hoped when tried. It would be worth a shot to cut off maduro's cash
flow. If that is possible in today's banking world. Evasion of
control of money flow seems possible if you have enough money these
days. Surely that would be true of maduro. But give it a try.
Great efforts are now made to stop the flow of dirty money, but still
it slips through.
On Friday in Oslo, Venezuelan opposition leader Mar0a Corina Machado was >>awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Machado, who has been in hiding ever
since last yearAs fraudulent elections, is widely regarded as the force >>keeping the countryAs opposition alive in the face of Nicolbs MaduroAs >>increasingly authoritarian regime. Machado, the committee said, is a >>obrave and committed champion of peace,o who okeeps the flame of
democracy burning amid a growing darkness.o
MachadoAs story is a political thriller come to life. A 58-year-old >>industrial engineer and former member of parliament, she spent two
decades as the most relentless opponent of Hugo Chbvez and his
successor, Nicolbs Maduro.
Once derided by the regime as la dama de hierro (the Iron Lady), she was >>banned from running in the presidential election. She then named a proxy >>and led a grassroots campaign that united the countryAs shattered >>opposition, drawing millions of Venezuelans to the polls in July 2024
and winning a landslide victory.
But MaduroAs regime seized power anyway, and began accelerating its >>crackdown on dissent. Fourteen months later, Machado is in an
undisclosed location and fears for her life. She still addresses her >>followers through encrypted video messages and clandestine radio >>transmissions, seeking to oust the undemocratic regime that has >>transformed Venezuela into a hub of international crime.
And now, sheAs been elevated to the global stage. Following the Nobel >>announcement, Machado wrote on X: oThis recognition of the struggle of
all Venezuelans is a boost to conclude our task: to conquer Freedom.o
She continued: o[T]oday, more than ever, we count on President Trump,
the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the >>democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve
Freedom and democracy.o
In recent months, Americans have watched their government edge closer to >>confrontation with Caracas. Under the banner of combating drug
smuggling, the Trump administration has deployed at least eight ships >>carrying more than 4,000 personnel to the waters off Venezuela, and sent >>F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico. It has bombed boats accused of
ferrying cocaine on behalf of the regimeua move that many say is >>unconstitutional. And it has doubled the reward for information leading
to the arrest of Maduro to $50 million, calling him oone of the largest >>narco-traffickers in the world.o
U.S. military officials are now drawing up options to target drug >>traffickers inside Venezuela, with strikes within the countryAs borders >>potentially beginning in a matter of weeks, according to four sources >>cited by NBC News. Is this just a counternarcotics operation, as the >>administration claims? For many Venezuelans, it is more than that; itAs
a sign that the worldAs most powerful democracy is finally treating >>MaduroAs regime as what they believe it to beua criminal syndicate, not
a sovereign government.
Last week, before she had become a Nobel laureate, I spoke with Machado >>via Zoom. It was a rare, wide-ranging conversation about the present and >>future of her countryuand what she wants the Trump administration, and
the American people, to do to support her opposition movementAs fight >>against Maduro. Below is a lightly edited transcript of our conversation.
Jonathan Jakubowicz: Americans today are allergic to foreign wars. After >>the debacles in Iraq and Afghanistan, the very mention of ointerventiono >>sets off alarms across both the right and the left. Why should the U.S. >>government be involved in Venezuela?
Mar0a Corina Machado: Venezuela is not Iraq or Afghanistan. ItAs three >>hours from the United States, with open access to the Caribbean, and it >>has been taken over by a narco-terrorist regime allied with the WestAs >>worst adversariesuRussia, Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and powerful drug >>cartels. TheyAve turned our territory, institutions, and resources into
an operational base for global crime: cocaine routes, gold trafficking, >>weapons smuggling, and human exploitation. Their goal is to weaken
Western democracies, including the United States, from within.
This is not a distant or ideological issueuitAs a matter of U.S.
national security. Allowing a criminal state of this scale and proximity >>to consolidate power poses a direct and growing threat to the entire >>hemisphere.
Now imagine the opposite: a free and democratic Venezuela. One that >>becomes a strategic ally in the fight against narco-terrorism, a
reliable energy and trade partner, and a regional catalyst for >>stabilityuaccelerating the collapse of totalitarian regimes in Cuba and >>Nicaragua while blocking China, Russia, and Iran from expanding their >>reach in the Americas.
So when the United States decides to act, it isnAt ointervening in >>Venezuela.o ItAs defending the hemisphereuits people, its borders, and
its values. A free Venezuela doesnAt just make the region safer; it >>strengthens the very foundations of the free world.
JJ: For anyone not familiar with the situation, this might sound like an >>exaggeration.
MCM: They only need to listen to the Drug Enforcement Administration, >>which has documented that nearly a quarteru24 percentuof the worldAs >>cocaine passes through Venezuela. Or to the FBI, which has identified
Tren de Aragua, a transnational terrorist group run directly by Nicolbs >>Maduro, as a major threat to the American people. These criminal >>structures now operate across the Americas, from Canada to Argentina.
They actively undermine U.S. security. No other adversary of the United >>States has that kind of direct, on-foot access to American territory.
JJ: But an isolationist might argue that it would be enough for America
to secure its border. Why go overseas to fight for regime change?
MCM: The isolationist argument for solely securing the U.S. border is >>fundamentally flawed because the threat from Venezuela is not a >>traditional overseas problem; itAs a criminal and security threat that
has already projected itself across the hemisphere and directly
threatens U.S. stability.
The term oregime changeo is misleading. Control over Venezuela was
already mandated by the people through the 2024 elections. The issue is >>that a Maduro-allied criminal organization, known as the Cartel de los >>Soles, is actively refusing to yield power and has violently seized >>control of a nation that was historically one of the United StatesA >>closest allies.
Decades before countries like Spain, South Korea, or Portugal shed >>military dictatorships, Venezuela already had a stable democracy. No one >>has to teach Venezuelans how democratic institutions work. The current >>cartel seized power only through the gradual dismantling of those >>institutions and brutal repression, not due to a lack of democratic culture. >>
Ignoring the problem allows this narco-terrorist hubuallied with Russia, >>Iran, and Hezbollahuto guarantee continuous, escalating border and >>security crises for the U.S. Fighting the criminal regime in Venezuela
is the most effective form of forward defense, securing American >>interests, and stabilizing the hemisphere.
We want democracyuone that guarantees the freedom to work, to create, to >>speak without fear. A nation where life is lived with dignity and guided >>by justice, solidarity, and the strength of family.
JJ: But isnAt there a risk that it can turn into another quagmire?
MCM: No, on the contrary! It will be a transition from current chaos to >>order and the rule of law. It will be an orderly transition for several >>compelling reasons.
First, I daresay there is no other society in the hemisphere with
greater cohesion than the Venezuelan one. The vast majority of
Venezuelans want the same thing: to be able to live with dignity, with >>opportunities, and with our children back home. This is only possible >>after the Maduro regime is gone.
Second, the rejection of Maduro within the Armed Forces and the police
is immense. The Venezuelan Armed Forces were decisive in our electoral >>victory in July 2024. Every voting center was protected by them, and in >>all of them, the military collaborated so that our teams obtained
original copies of the tally sheets that demonstrated our victory. Even
in the precincts where the military themselves voted, we won by the same >>overwhelming margins as the rest of the nation. That tells you where
their loyalties truly lie. They are with the Venezuelan peopleubut they >>live in constant fear, under surveillance, with many tortured or killed
at the slightest suspicion of dissent.
The reality is that repression is enforced not by the rank and file, but >>by a minuscule high command and a few thousand loyal subordinates. The >>vast majority of the Armed Forces and police are waiting for the moment >>when they can stand with us. They will be the first to help us pacify
the country once Maduro is gone. We have already identified every >>irregular groupucartels, guerrillas, and paramilitariesuand we have a
plan for a peaceful transition back to constitutional democracy.
JJ: Would it be that easy?
MCM: Not easy. Complex. And challenging. But the reason eight million >>Venezuelansunearly 30 percent of our populationuhave fled the country is >>not civil war or armed conflict. It is the direct result of catastrophic >>economic policies that left us poorer than Haiti, and the brutal >>repression of anyone who dares to hope for freedom and change.
But unlike the nations where the U.S. has intervened in the Middle East, >>Venezuela has a cohesive populationuone that shares language, religion, >>race, and culture. A nation far closer to the United States than any
other in South America. We play more baseball than soccer. You can buy a >>hot dog on every corner. Our people have never regarded the United
States as an enemy. And you can see proof of this in the Venezuelans who >>are thriving in the United Statesufrom the former president of MIT to >>Silicon Valley founders, Emmy and Grammy winners, Oscar nominees, Major >>League Baseball superstars, and Triple Crownuwinning jockeys.
We are a nation overflowing with talent. And for the first time in our >>history, almost all of us are politically and socially aligned. We want >>democracyuone that guarantees the freedom to work, to create, to speak >>without fear. A nation where life is lived with dignity and guided by >>justice, solidarity, and the strength of family.
JJ: Why is everyone so politically aligned now?
MCM: Because the reality is unbearable. Eighty-six percent live in >>poverty. More than 70 percent in critical poverty. Retirees survive on
$1 a month. Children attend school an average of two days a weekuand
grow up with the highest malnutrition rates in the hemisphere. ItAs not >>hard to see this is unsustainable.
JJ: Are those numbers the reason for the mass migration?
MCM: Yes. And the lack of future and freedom. But democracy in Venezuela >>will reverse that migration. You will see millions of Venezuelans >>returning home. When I spent months campaigning across the country, I >>heard the same cry everywhere: We want our children to come back home.
One man stopped me once, his eyes filled with tears, and said: oYou are >>the last hope I have of ever seeing my children again.o I hugged him and >>told him the truth: that heuand people like himuwere my only hope of >>seeing my own children return. That moment became the heart of my entire >>campaign.
We are a nation that loves family. Rich or poor, old and younguit
doesnAt matter. We all want the same thing: for our children to come
home, to stay home, and for those who have built lives abroad to be able >>to visit, to reunite, and to help rebuild our future.
Our families have been torn apart not by war, but by hunger and lack of >>opportunity. And itAs not just our tragedy. Every country in the
Americas feels the weight of our exodus.
JJ: Families are important, but people need to eat. How would you entice >>them to come back?
MCM: Business opportunities. Venezuela has the potential to become the >>energy hub of the Americas. We hold the largest oil reserves in the >>worldugreater than Saudi ArabiaAs. We have the eighth-largest reserves
of natural gas, and the fifth-largest of gold. Great coasts and >>infrastructure. These are not abstract figures; they are the foundation
of a transformation.
Imagine a $1.7 trillion business opportunity in diverse sectors,
igniting almost overnight, fueled by energy, minerals, and the talent of >>millions of Venezuelans returning home. That prosperity wonAt just be >>oursuit will ripple across the Americas. It will mean cheaper, more
secure energy for the United States. It will mean stability for the >>region. For investors and entrepreneurs, Venezuela will be the hub of a >>new era of growth, innovation, and opportunity.
JJ: ItAs easy to imagine what Venezuela could become. WhatAs harder to >>imagine is the spark that makes it possible. What does America need to
do to help enable that change?
MCM: WeAve asked the international community to cut off the cartelAs
money supply. The dollars Maduro receives from drug trafficking, from >>black-market oil sales, from money launderinguthat flow needs to stop. >>Only then will he understand that time is up, and his best option is to >>accept terms for a negotiated exit. Right now, Maduro still tells his >>inner circle that the United States is bluffing. The only way to change >>his perception is to increase pressure and send a clear message that he >>has to go.
There is an impressive international coalition focused on combating the >>Maduro regimeuled by the United States, and joined by the UK, France,
the Netherlands, and many Caribbean and Latin American nations. It sends >>the right message. But as long as Maduro believes the world is bluffing, >>he wonAt accept it is time to go.
JJ: WeAve just seen President Trump lay out a plan for Gaza that
includes a form of amnesty for terrorists who surrender their weapons
and leave to places where they wonAt be harmed. Would you offer
something similar to members of MaduroAs Cartel de los Soles?
MCM: We have always said we are open to serious, verifiable negotiations >>and to offering guarantees to those who facilitate a peaceful
transition. I canAt go into operational details now, but the answer is >>yes: We are prepared to discuss arrangements that help end the violence >>and restore the rule of law. What those who today hold power must >>understand is that their position is far weaker than it was a year
agouand it will continue to erode. Every day they delay makes any future >>negotiation more costly for them; waiting only narrows their options.
JJ: Would you say the only thing stopping this transition is their >>inability to recognize that their time is up?
MCM: I believe many of them already know their time is up. And thatAs >>precisely why weAre seeing what weAre seeing inside the regime.
JJ: What are we seeing?
MCM: Desperation. Fear. Betrayal. Paranoia. They spy on each other,
inform on each other, and quietly prepare escape plans to save their own >>skinueven if it means giving up their closest allies. ThatAs why I say >>there is no going back. Yes, there are still radicals willing to
sacrifice themselves before letting Venezuela be free. But they are
fewer every day, increasingly isolated. And the firmer and more united
the international community remains, the faster this process will move
to its inevitable conclusion.
JJ: What do you say to those who have given up hopeuand who think what >>youAre describing is impossible?
MCM: We already did the impossible. We defeated them under their own >>rulesuwithout money, with more than a million volunteersuand we proved
to the world that we won the election in a landslide. In response,
Maduro declared war on Venezuelans. But this country does not belong to >>him. It belongs to its people; courageous, hardworking, family loving
and profoundly religious.
And even though Venezuelans have known nothing but socialism, we
strongly want to live in an open society that respects private
initiative and property, where no one begs the state for crumbs, but
lives proudly from their work. Imagine what will happen when that lock
is finally broken. You will see an explosion of energy, of creativity,
of entrepreneurship. You will see the rebirth of a nation.
But you will also see something more: the creation of the tech hub of
the Americas, a country that will, at last, offer the conditions to
build, with rule of law, respect for property, incentives for >>entrepreneurs, and an efficient, accountable government. And that
national revival will not only transform us, it will inspire the world.
JJ: You mention socialism. Believe it or not, there is a generation of >>Americans today who are flirting with socialism. And when Venezuela is >>raised as a warning, they say: That wasnAt real socialism. Are they wrong?
MCM: Twenty-six years ago, Venezuelan youth fell in love with a
socialist in Hugo Chbvez. When people pointed to Cuba as a warning, they >>said, oVenezuela is not Cuba. And Cuba is not real socialism.o But here
we areuworse than Cuba.
Socialism always follows the same pattern. It elevates the state above
the citizen, strips away your autonomy, your conscience, your dignity, >>your ability to choose. And it does so with a seductive lie. It whispers >>of equality, but the only equality it delivers is at the bottomuwhere >>everyone is dragged down together. That has been the case in every
nation, on every continent, in every culture where it has been tried.
The result is always the same: a gigantic state that crushes the people >>beneath it, and once it takes hold, is terribly hard to remove.
Only free societiesuwhere the individual comes firstucan nurture both >>liberty and the responsibility that sustains it. Because freedom without >>responsibility decays, and responsibility without freedom is tyranny.
But when merit becomes the path to rise, when effort and creativity are >>rewarded, then every citizen is called to succeeduthe whole nation rises >>together.
That is what we want for Venezuela. And it is why I say to the American >>people: Do not be seduced. Socialism is the sexiest path to losing your >>freedom. Guard your freedom jealously. Defend it fiercely. Because
freedom is not just an American promiseuit is the hope of the world.
On Sat, 11 Oct 2025 11:30:22 -0400, Noah Sombrero <fedora@fea.st>
wrote:
On Sat, 11 Oct 2025 11:05:24 -0400, Wilson <Wilson@nowhere.invalid>
wrote:
On 10/11/2025 10:30 AM, Wilson wrote:
On 10/11/2025 7:28 AM, Noah Sombrero wrote:
"Himbo said Machado told him she accepted the prize in his honor."
If you don't get it, steal it.
Mar|!a Corina Machado
@MariaCorinaYA
"We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count >>>> on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of
Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal >>>> allies to achieve Freedom and democracy.
I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to
President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!"
https://x.com/MariaCorinaYA/status/1976642376119549990
What's genuinely creepy is the attempt to deny her statement.
https://www.thefp.com/p/the-woman-who-took-on-a-dictator-and-won-a-nobel-peace-prize
She is a great defender of v. She still does not say that she
accepted the award "in honor of" himbo. I say she deserves the award
and himbo does not.
She is hiding out, in fear of persecution, refusing to leave her
homeland, beating her drum. Good for her. Here's a sign people out
here notice.
On 10/11/2025 9:26 AM, Noah Sombrero wrote:
On Sat, 11 Oct 2025 11:30:22 -0400, Noah Sombrero <fedora@fea.st>How ironic!
wrote:
On Sat, 11 Oct 2025 11:05:24 -0400, Wilson <Wilson@nowhere.invalid>
wrote:
On 10/11/2025 10:30 AM, Wilson wrote:
On 10/11/2025 7:28 AM, Noah Sombrero wrote:
"Himbo said Machado told him she accepted the prize in his honor." >>>>>>
If you don't get it, steal it.
Mar0a Corina Machado
@MariaCorinaYA
"We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count >>>>> on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of
Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal >>>>> allies to achieve Freedom and democracy.
I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to
President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!"
https://x.com/MariaCorinaYA/status/1976642376119549990
What's genuinely creepy is the attempt to deny her statement.
https://www.thefp.com/p/the-woman-who-took-on-a-dictator-and-won-a-nobel-peace-prize
She is a great defender of v. She still does not say that she
accepted the award "in honor of" himbo. I say she deserves the award
and himbo does not.
She is hiding out, in fear of persecution, refusing to leave her
homeland, beating her drum. Good for her. Here's a sign people out
here notice.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the award on October 9, 2009,
citing Obama's promotion of nuclear nonproliferation and a "new climate"
in international relations fostered by Obama, especially in reaching out
to the Muslim world.
You can't make this stuff up!--