Female Nobel Peace Prize winner who’s set to become Venezuela’s new president after Maduro was captured by Trump

Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado will likely become the next president of Venezuela following the capture of Nicolas Maduro by the United States.

Opposition leaders Corina Machado and Edmundo González could be the next to succeed in the South American country, according to a Caracas expert.

Jorge Jraissati, President of the Economic Participation Group, told Fox News Digital: ‘Machado and Gonzalez will assume a transitional government in Venezuela.

‘They have the support of 70 percent of Venezuelans. ‘They would lead this transition period.’

Jraissati believes Machado has the ‘capacity and integrity’ to lead the country while it copes with the shock of having its authoritarian former leader removed from power.

‘[The] “The key will be his ability to surround himself with young, talented Venezuelans rather than career politicians,” he said.

The United States recognized González as the leader of Venezuela after he won the election by a landslide margin of two to one in the 2024 elections.

People attend a parade celebrating Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado receiving the Nobel Peace Prize

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores held hands and took a photo after the oath ceremony at Palacio Federal Legislativo

After Maduro’s court banned Machado’s candidacy, González became the opposition candidate, but Maduro ignored the election result.

Although he has not commented on the president’s capture, just last month he supported Donald Trump’s harsh stance on his country, claiming that the country had been turned into ‘America’s crime capital’ under Maduro.

Machado called on the world to keep up the pressure on the authoritarian regime.

At a press conference in Oslo, Machado was asked whether he would support a US invasion of Venezuela.

He said: ‘Venezuela has already been invaded. We have Russian agents, Iranian agents, terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas that operate freely in accordance with the regime.

“We have Colombian guerrillas, we have drug cartels, who have captured more than 60 percent of our population and are involved in not only drug trafficking but also human trafficking and prostitution networks,” he added.

‘This has turned Venezuela into America’s criminal capital. What keeps the regime alive is a very powerful and heavily financed system of repression.

‘Where do these funds come from? From drug trafficking, oil black market, arms smuggling and human trafficking.’

Without directly naming Trump, Machado said: ‘We are asking the international community to cut off these resources.’

Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize in October for his work as a leading opponent of the authoritarian government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after he launched a “massive attack” on the South American country, President Donald Trump said Saturday.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado addresses her supporters during a protest called by the opposition on the eve of the presidential inauguration in Caracas on January 9, 2025

Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado walks in front of the Grand Hotel with Asle Toje, Vice President of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, after meeting with the audience at the Royal Palace in Oslo, the capital of Norway.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado addresses her supporters at a protest against President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, January 9, 2025.

Currently, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez leads the government.

Maduro has been labeled a left-wing radical with close ties to the Cuban government and has been in power since April 2013.

His presidency has been plagued by several social and economic crises that have thrown millions of people into poverty and forced more than eight million Venezuelans to emigrate.

Economic crashes caused inflation and led to shortages of medicine and food, causing families to go hungry, get sick, and fight over necessities.

Maduro has also eliminated potential government opponents by imprisoning and subjecting them to torture.

As Venezuelans protested his rule in the streets, harsh military forces caused more than 100 deaths and thousands of injuries.

The International Criminal Court therefore launched an investigation and it was continuing in 2025.

As a result, the country faces one of the largest displacement crises in the world, according to the United Nations.

While Maduro’s capture sent shockwaves around the world, jubilant Venezuelans took to the streets today to greet this news with singing and dancing.

Machado leads the opposition party Vente Venezuela, a liberal, center-right political party.

His campaign focused on the government’s transition to democracy, and he has been in hiding for almost a year after being forced to withdraw from last year’s presidential race.