Maduro’s Capture Could Mean ‘Fall of Berlin Wall’ for Americas

The U.S. capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro set in motion what could be the “equivalent to the fall of the Berlin Wall in the Americas,” the country’s opposition leader says.

For the first time in history, the Americas could be free of “communism, dictatorship, and narco-terrorism,” María Corina Machado said Friday during a press conference at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C.  

Machado went into hiding following the July 2024 presidential election in Venezuela. Maduro, the incumbent socialist ruler of Venezuela, declared himself the winner despite widespread claims that he lost and Machado won. 

Neither the U.S. nor the European Union recognized Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela following the election.  

Following the U.S. capture of Maduro, who is being held in New York on federal charges that include illegal drug trafficking and narco-terrorism, there has been widespread speculation over Machado’s future as leader of the South American country.  

Delcy Rodriguez, who was Maduro’s vice president, is now serving as the acting president of Venezuela, and most of Maduro’s regime remains in place.  

Machado met with President Donald Trump at the White House Thursday, and assured the Venezuelan people that “Venezuela is going to be free, and that’s going to be achieved with the support of the people of the United States.”  

Asked if she spoke with Trump about a transition of power in Venezuela, Machado said it is “not about me.”  

“It is about the will of the people,” Machado said, adding she talked with Trump about the “terrible conditions” people have been living under in Venezuela and “how the regime stole that result” of the previous election, adding, “and I think he can certainly relate to that.”  

Trump “understands the moment and the implication for I would say the whole hemisphere,” the Venezuelan opposition leader said.  

Not only has Venezuela had a socialist regime for decades, but it has also empowered other dictatorial nations such as Cuba, according to foreign policy experts.  

Venezuela and Cuba remained close both politically and economically under the Maduro regime, according to Andrés Martínez-Fernández, senior policy analyst for Latin America at The Heritage Foundation. 

“Venezuela has been the main artery for the inflow of financing to Cuba in the form of oil, primarily, and that has enabled Cuba to weather a dramatic economic crisis, long-standing economic crisis, and social unrest,” Martínez-Fernández previously told The Daily Signal.  

If Venezuela achieves freedom for its people, the implications for the hemisphere will be “historic,” according to Machado.