Disputed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was branded a “caged animal” in a recent interview on FOX News with opposition leader María Corina Machado.
President Maduro has continued to hold onto the presidency after fraudulent elections, with many Venezuelans and the U.S. calling for his resignation – Machado sees a steady transition between the fall of Maduro and the rise of a democratic Venezuela.
“Maduro, you know, has no capacity to retaliate against the United States or the international community, so he goes against the most vulnerable. But it is turning against him. He doesn't trust the armed forces, he knows that Venezuelan society is united, and I dare to say, as no other society in the region, even in the world. So we are heading into an orderly, peaceful transition,” she said.
Machado continues, expressing how her safety is compromised under Maduro as he attempts to silence all forms of opposition, maintaining his grip on power.
“There are more than 800 political prisoners who are under horrible conditions, inhumane conditions. They have been tortured. The Catholic church, everybody who raises their voice here in Venezuela is threatened,” she stated. “But we won't take anything. We are organized. And there's this rolling hope that finally we had freedom coming to Venezuela.”
She concludes, claiming that order will be restored to the country within “the first 100 hours, the first 100 days,” and wants to go beyond just Venezuelan freedom and rid the Americas of Communist dictatorships.
“We know exactly what we need to do. The first 100 hours, the first 100 days to take care of, not only the territory but institutions to take care of the people, because that's our priority,” she added. “ I want to go beyond and work on the next common goal, the Cuban regime and the Nicaraguan regime, and for the first time in history, we will have the Americas free of communism and dictatorship. This is huge, and this will bring security, prosperity, and safety for the whole Americas and certainly for the United States.”
The U.S. Opposition
The Trump administration has been fueling opposition groups to take a stand against Maduro while simultaneously placing heavy sanctions against Venezuela and revoking American oil companies’ licenses to operate in the country.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has also placed a $50 million bounty on Maduro for any information that can lead to his arrest, all in an attempt to subdue the Maduro regime and free Venezuela from his grip.
