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Venezuelan opposition figure and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado called on the country’s armed forces to put down their weapons and refuse to follow President Nicolás Maduro’s orders, urging them to join what she described as a growing nationwide movement for “freedom.”
Machado issued the appeal in an audio message posted on X, addressing security forces directly.
“Dear Venezuelans, the cry for freedom in this land is growing and echoing inside and outside the country,” she said.
“We are 30 million people rising up against a collapsing criminal regime that has taken our people hostage, separated us from loved ones, and deliberately starved us.”
Machado urged members of the security forces to reject Maduro's commands.
“To those who still obey this criminal regime: Is this what you want for your people?” she said. “Lower your weapons and do not attack your own people. Be heroes, not criminals.”
She warned that those who continue to follow orders would carry the consequences.
“If you do not act now, that cry of suffering will never leave you,” she said. “When the day arrives, join us. Venezuela and your brothers are waiting.”
Machado has confirmed plans to travel to Oslo to receive the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, awarded for her struggle to defend democratic rights in Venezuela.
Machado has been at the center of international attention for her open support of Israel and her relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Reports claim that in 2018, she asked Netanyahu to help facilitate a UN Security Council intervention in Venezuela, pledging to restore diplomatic ties with Israel if she came to power.
Regional tensions continue to rise as the United States increases military activity near Venezuela.
U.S. President Donald Trump previously ordered expanded deployment of military assets to combat Latin American drug cartels.
In late August, the U.S. sent submarines and warships to waters off Venezuela. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said American forces were prepared for operations “including regime change.”
Maduro responded by mobilizing 4.5 million militia members, saying the country was ready to repel any attack.
U.S. strikes on vessels accused of drug trafficking have drawn criticism from Venezuela and international observers, who argue the operations violate international law.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, has also been deployed to Latin America under the same mission.
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