Nobel Winner Thanks Trump, Warns of "Dangerous" Venezuela Move

Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado has praised former U.S. President Donald Trump as "courageous" for authorizing a raid to seize Venezuelan state assets. However, she issued a strong warning about America's current policy. Machado, a Venezuelan opposition leader, fled her country in April. She thanked Trump for a 2020 operation that captured a cargo plane owned by state firm Conviasa. U.S. officials sold the aircraft and sent the funds to Machado's political movement. But Machado criticized continued U.S. support for an interim government led by opposition figure Juan Guaidó. She called this strategy "dangerous" and "absurd." Guaidó was recognized as Venezuela's legitimate leader by the U.S. and others after disputed 2018 elections. Machado argues that Guaidó's government has lost popular support inside Venezuela. She says backing him weakens the opposition's chance to defeat President Nicolás Maduro in upcoming elections.