Machado painted a stark picture of a nation that has plummeted from prosperity to poverty: “a country that used to be the richest country in our region and the freest country in our region, and that has turned into one of the poorest.” Being under socialist rule for decades, she said, has crippled industry, devastated infrastructure, and triggered an exodus of nearly a third of Venezuela’s population. “Our economy has collapsed. It’s been over 80% down in the last [several] years,” she said. “Our people have been forced to flee just to survive.”
The opposition leader described to Brady what she called a “narco-terrorist state” built on repression and corruption, saying that “certainly Venezuela has turned into a safe haven for criminal activities from all over the world.” She accused Maduro and his allies of financing their grip on power through gold smuggling, arms and drug trafficking, and human exploitation.
Restoring the oil and gas sectors, she added, will demand both foreign capital and the return of Venezuela’s diaspora. “Our human talent, our people, our diaspora … is willing to come back as soon as Venezuela goes to work hard.”
Machado said she would welcome responsible private investment from “all over the world”—including the United States, Europe, China, and the Middle East—provided all projects adhere to transparency and fair competition. Speaking to the forum in Riyadh, she also signaled strong interest in partnerships with Gulf nations.
She called for an international front to expose and freeze assets linked to Maduro’s circle. “We are asking all democratic countries around the world … to have a full disclosure of all the information they have regarding all the crimes Nicolás Maduro and his cronies have committed,” she said.
Despite living in hiding, Machado was resolute about Venezuela’s future. “If the regime finds me, I’ll likely be disappeared,” she said matter-of-factly, betraying a hint of emotion but quickly adding that her own dangers and struggles are no different from that of any Venezuelan who speaks out at this moment. “I want you to know that I am absolutely convinced that we’re moving into a transition that is going to be orderly. Venezuela is a cohesive society, we have no tensions, racial, religious, social, political, and 90% of our country wants the same, to live with dignity, with justice, certainly with freedom, and we want to bring our kids back home.”
