Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado declared her intention to serve as president in an interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” with Margaret Brennan, amid ongoing discussions about Venezuela’s political transition following the U.S. military’s capture of President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month.
Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025 for her efforts to promote democratic rights and a peaceful shift from authoritarian rule in Venezuela, appeared on the program broadcast on January 30, 2026. She has long been a prominent critic of the governments led first by Hugo Chávez and then by Maduro since 2013. In the exchange, Brennan asked about Machado’s potential role in a future government, noting that President Trump had suggested she might have one.
FACE THE NATION EXCLUSIVE: Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado tells @margbrennan that “I will be president when the time comes” when asked what role she would want in a future Venezuelan government. Watch more Sunday on @FaceTheNation at 10:30 am ET. pic.twitter.com/LeX25B9lzQ
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 30, 2026
“I will be president when the time comes,” Machado replied. “But it doesn’t matter — that should be decided in elections by the Venezuelan people. I wasn’t allowed to run in the last election, as we mentioned before, because Maduro was afraid to run against me. And he thought Edmundo was not a threat because nobody knew who he was. In less than three months we managed to put the whole country supporting him because this is a matter of freedom.”
Machado referred to the 2024 presidential election, in which she won the opposition’s primary to become the unity candidate but was barred from running by Venezuelan authorities. She then backed Edmundo González Urrutia as the alternative opposition candidate. The election results, which Maduro claimed victory in, faced widespread international rejection over allegations of fraud and irregularities. Machado, born in 1967, trained as an industrial engineer and has been active in opposition politics for years. She founded organizations focused on election monitoring and children’s welfare before entering the National Assembly in 2010, where she won with one of the highest vote totals that year. Authorities expelled her from the legislature in 2014. She leads the Vente Venezuela party and has consistently advocated for democratic reforms.
The interview comes against the backdrop of significant recent developments in Venezuela. On January 3, 2026, U.S. forces conducted an operation that resulted in the capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were transferred to U.S. custody. The action followed years of U.S. sanctions and pressure on the Maduro government over human rights abuses, election disputes, and corruption allegations.
Earlier this month, Machado met with President Trump at the White House. During the meeting, she presented him with her Nobel Peace Prize medal as a gesture recognizing what she described as his commitment to Venezuelan freedom. Trump later acknowledged the gift on social media, calling it a sign of mutual respect.
President Donald J. Trump meets with María Corina Machado of Venezuela in the Oval Office, during which she presented the President with her Nobel Peace Prize in recognition and honor.🕊️ pic.twitter.com/v7pYHjVNVO
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 16, 2026
Machado emphasized in the discussion that Venezuela’s future leadership must emerge from free and fair elections decided by its citizens, but her comments show clear confidence in her as the future president.
