MUMBAI: Democracy, defiance, and a dash of diplomacy. In a rare and emotional global exclusive, Times Now has become the only Indian news channel to interview Venezuela’s 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado and the face of her nation’s democratic resistance.
Speaking to Times Now and Times Now Navbharat group editor-in-chief Navika Kumar, Machado appeared via a secure link from hiding, where she has lived in isolation for over 15 months amid president Nicolás Maduro’s crackdown on dissent.
In her most candid conversation yet, Machado called India “a great democracy and an example for the world”, expressing hope that a liberated Venezuela would deepen ties with New Delhi.
“India has been an example for many generations,” she said. “I hope I can host prime minister Modi in a free Venezuela very soon.”
The Nobel laureate also made headlines for describing US president Donald Trump as “our main ally in the fight for democracy”, crediting his administration’s hard-line stance against the Maduro regime. She defended America’s targeted strikes on narco-terror networks in Venezuelan waters as a necessary response to “the criminal socialist structures that have devastated our nation.”
Breaking down at one point, Machado spoke of the human cost of repression and said, “I’ve been in absolute isolation for almost 15 months. Thousands have disappeared. Children and women have been abused, tortured, even killed. But Venezuela’s spirit is unbroken: Maduro’s time is over.”
Citing Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings, she reflected on the power of peaceful resistance. “Being peaceful is not weakness. Gandhi showed humanity that freedom demands strength.”
Her remarks come amid global debates over the future of democracy and place India squarely in her vision of hope.
Leave a Reply