Published On 18/11/2025
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Last update: 22:51 (Mecca time)
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Tuesday that her country stands “on the cusp of a new era” without President Nicolas Maduro, while Maduro expressed his country’s readiness for dialogue with the United States and held a face-to-face meeting with any official in it, including President Donald Trump.
The statements of Machado, winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize and who has been in hiding since she contested the results of the recent presidential elections, come at a time when Washington accuses Maduro of leading a “drug gang” and is carrying out strikes against boats that it says are suspected of being linked to drug trafficking, resulting in dozens of deaths.
President Trump recently said that Maduro’s days were numbered, refusing to rule out sending ground forces while at the same time expressing his readiness for dialogue.
“The abuse of power by the regime is coming to an end,” Machado said in a video on social media.
She pledged to hold safe elections without tampering in the post-Maduro era, considering that Venezuela will not fully rise unless those who committed crimes against humanity are held accountable before the law and before history.
In turn, Maduro said in a press conference held on Monday that his country is a country of peace and will remain so, expressing his readiness for face-to-face dialogue with any American official.
He added that whoever desires dialogue with Venezuela will find us here and will find an honest people who will fulfill their promise, but whoever comes to us with fifty thousand soldiers and destructive plans will find war in all Venezuelan cities, and he pointed out that Trump’s political life will end if the United States launches an attack on Venezuela.
Maduro confirmed that the military units in his country are prepared to face all possibilities, noting that there are parties inciting Trump against Venezuela.
In response to a question about whether he had decided to launch a military operation against Venezuela, Trump said: I cannot tell you that, but there are some thoughts related to this topic.
This coincides with reports in the American press stating that senior military officials presented Trump with updated military options for dealing with Venezuela, including military intervention.