The leader of the Venezuelan opposition, María Corina Machado, stated on Wednesday that Latin America and Venezuela are «living a decisive moment», while in her country they face a «criminal structure» that, she said, «must be dismantled with the support of the world's democracies».
«Latin America is undoubtedly living a decisive moment and, above all, my country, Venezuela», Machado stated. She confirmed that in her country «a criminal system, a narcoterrorist regime, has been established, which uses terror, violence, and hunger as instruments of control» and sustains its power on «the trafficking of drugs, gold, weapons, minerals, and human beings».
«Our tragedy has become a raw warning for all of Latin America, because democracy does not die by a blow, it dies in silence, when citizens get used to lying, as our beloved teacher Mario Vargas Llosa said, democracy does not survive corruption», she said.
Despite this, she added that Venezuela has begun «a new era», since currently «there is a concrete, tangible, close hope for transition and national reconstruction, which involves dismantling the criminal structure and definitively advancing in our liberation and transformation».
«The world has understood that what we face is not a political discussion, but a criminal structure that must be dismantled with the support of the world's democracies», she indicated.
The leader of the Venezuelan opposition María Corina Machado (on screen) speaks during the Annual Conference of Executives (CADE Ejecutivos) of Peru on November 5, 2025, in Lima (Peru).
«In some of our nations, democracy has been totally destroyed and in others it is being put to the test», Machado pointed out in a video message broadcast during the Annual Conference of Executives (CADE Ejecutivos) of Peru, the country's largest business forum, held in Lima.
The anti-Chavista leader added that freedom «has ceased to be a guaranteed right» in the region «to become a cause» that must be «defended every day».
«Populism is not fought with more promises, but with truth, integrity, and results», she emphasized before stating that Venezuela «is a people that, in the midst of deep pain, has learned the value and price of freedom».
Machado also added that «the reconstruction to come» in Venezuela, when this process concludes, «is not only economic or institutional, above all, it is moral and spiritual».
«It will be a very difficult process, but infinitely hopeful, because nothing can stop a people determined to recover its destiny», she assured before emphasizing that «there is no neutrality when freedom is at stake».
During her presentation at CADE Ejecutivos, the opposition leader thanked IPAE Acción Empresarial, the organizing entity of the event, for the invitation and said that «this forum reflects the best of the Latin American spirit».
«It is a space where truth is honored and freedom is defended with moral firmness», she said.
