Podcast Summary: The Interview (BBC World Service)

Guest: María Corina Machado, Venezuelan opposition leader
Host: Lucy Hockings
Date: December 11, 2025
Episode Title: ‘Our fight for freedom is a fight for peace’

Episode Overview

This compelling episode features Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, fresh from being awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her role in uniting the opposition and advocating for a peaceful, democratic transition in Venezuela. Recorded in Oslo shortly after her clandestine escape from Venezuela, Machado reflects on personal sacrifice, the nature of resistance under dictatorship, international support, and her unshaken commitment to return home and finish the fight for freedom.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Venezuelan Crisis & State Terrorism

• Machado describes the state of Venezuela as one where state terrorism is rampant, with the regime committing crimes against humanity against any dissenters.
  • Quote:

    "Venezuela has turned into a nation, a country in which the state applies terrorism... anybody that dares to speak out to defend any of your basic rights takes a huge risk and probably ends in prison."
    (03:22 – María Corina Machado)

• She emphasizes the immense personal risks taken by opposition members and ordinary citizens alike.

2. Personal Sacrifices and Family

• Machado recounts her long periods apart from family due to threats and her activism.

  • Quote:

    "For over 16 months, I haven't been able to hug or touch anyone... to see the people I love most... the reason why I do what I do is because I trust the people."
    (04:50 – María Corina Machado)

• She details the emotional cost on her children, missing university graduations and weddings for their safety.

3. The Dangerous Escape from Venezuela

• Machado confirms reports of her dramatic escape—through multiple disguises and checkpoints, relying on a network risking their lives to get her to Oslo for the Nobel ceremony.
  • Quote:

    "I'm here because many men and women risked their lives in order for me to arrive in Oslo. I came here on behalf of them, the millions of anonymous Venezuelan heroes."
    (09:13 – María Corina Machado)

• She arrived with just the clothes on her back after more than 16 months in hiding.

4. Commitment to Return to Venezuela

• Despite being declared a fugitive and facing immediate arrest, Machado firmly states her intention to return.
  • Quote:

    "Of course I'm going back to Venezuela... I'll be in the place where I am more useful for our cause."
    (10:43 – María Corina Machado)

5. International Support and US Involvement

• Machado carefully avoids direct answers about personal assurances from the US but acknowledges gratitude for international recognition of the criminal nature of the Maduro regime.
  • Quote:

    "We need to address this regime, not as a conventional dictatorship, but as a criminal structure... I think the world has finally understood that what we are doing is to save lives."
    (11:31 – María Corina Machado)

• She highlights the need for the international community to focus on dismantling the regime’s funding and transnational criminal links rather than direct military intervention.

6. Readiness for Democratic Transition

• The opposition has prepared teams and plans for the first 100 hours and 100 days post-transition, focusing on the urgent humanitarian, financial, and security crises.
  • Quote:

    "We are ready... because that's how we got here. Even though it's going to be a really complex process... we have fought so hard. Society is going to care for (freedom)."
    (16:05 – María Corina Machado)

7. Justice and the Future of Maduro

• Machado insists numerous offers for a peaceful transition have been rejected by Maduro, and points to fractures within the regime itself.

  • Quote:

    "Maduro has been offered... numerous possibilities to leave power in a peaceful way... He not only rejected it but decided to unleash the worst repression wave we've seen in our history."
    (17:34 – María Corina Machado)

• She is elusive on the details of any future negotiations, noting that criminal groups complicate transition efforts. Any compromise will depend on circumstances at the time.

8. The Role of International Pressure and Military Threats

• Machado does not explicitly support US military intervention, instead pushing for international action to cut off criminal financial flows to the regime.
  • Quote:

    "What we have asked... is the international community to help us stop the flows of criminal resources... And a very important part of those resources come from the drug activities. An international coalition to dismantle this industry should be put in place."
    (21:15 – María Corina Machado)

9. Transforming Venezuela’s Future

• She argues that Venezuela is at a pivotal moment, with a united opposition, a weakened regime, and international focus.
  • Quote:

    "The day Maduro goes, we're going to turn Venezuela from the criminal hub of the Americas into the energy hub of the Americas."
    (23:31 – María Corina Machado)

• Outlines a vision for regional democratization, believing Venezuela’s transformation will ripple through Nicaragua, Cuba, and beyond.

10. Foundations of Hope and Determination

• Machado ends on a note of self-reliance and hope, rejecting the need for foreign assurances.
  • Quote:

    "My assurances come from within because I know my country, I know our people — Venezuela will be free. Our fight for freedom, it's a fight for peace, and it is an act of love."
    (24:21 & 25:05 – María Corina Machado)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• “I don’t have an army, I don’t have missile rockets. I have my body, I have my voice.”
  (01:34 – María Corina Machado)

• On supporters' gifts:
  "People take their rosaries from their own neck and they put it on me... I think I have over 7,000 or 8,000 rosaries that I received all around Venezuela."
  (05:37 – María Corina Machado)

• On being told change was impossible:
  “They have told us all the time... impossible to defeat Maduro, impossible to prove it, impossible for me to be here... So we're going to make that possible.”
  (24:51 – María Corina Machado)

Important Timestamps

• 03:22 – State terrorism in Venezuela (Machado)
• 04:50 – Emotional family reunion in Oslo
• 08:26 – Machado’s perilous escape and gratitude to supporters
• 10:43 – Commitment to return to Venezuela
• 11:31 – International approach to the Maduro regime
• 16:05 – Readiness for transition and opposition plans
• 17:34 – On justice for regime crimes (including Maduro)
• 21:15 – Dismantling regime funding, call against military strikes
• 23:31 – Transforming Venezuela and regional democratization
• 24:21 – Rejection of foreign assurances, focus on Venezuelan agency
• 25:05 – Signature line: “our fight for freedom is a fight for peace”

Episode Summary in the Host’s Tone

In a tense, emotional, and inspiring conversation, María Corina Machado shares not only her personal story of sacrifice and clandestine heroism, but also her unwavering belief that Venezuela is on the cusp of historic democratic change thanks to its resilient people. Machado’s voice is equal parts vulnerable and ironclad — at once a mother lamenting lost time with her children, and a leader laser-focused on the logistics of freedom and national recovery.

For Machado, reconciliation, justice, and strategic international support are key, but so too is the collective will of a society unwilling to submit. Her journey from fugitive to Nobel laureate encapsulates the new determination animating Venezuela’s opposition — a struggle she calls not just for democracy, but for peace and love.

For listeners:
This episode offers a rare, intimate look at the human cost of political resistance, the realities of state terror, and the strategic thinking required for national transition. Machado’s clarity and conviction, undergirded by personal sacrifice and unflagging hope, makes her perspective essential for anyone following Latin America’s democratic struggles.