WASHINGTON — Early Saturday, the United States announced it had conducted a “large scale strike” in Venezuela, resulting in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. This bold move has intensified the spotlight on Venezuela’s enduring political turmoil.

In light of these developments, María Corina Machado’s name has frequently appeared in news reports. Machado is a key figure among the Venezuelan opposition, leading a determined campaign to dismantle the ruling party’s dominance over the nation.

With a background in industrial engineering and as the daughter of a steel industry leader, Machado made her first major political move in 2004. She co-founded Súmate, a nongovernmental organization that sought to initiate a referendum to recall the then-President Hugo Chávez. Although the attempt did not succeed, it led to charges of conspiracy against Machado and other executives of Súmate.

Machado, an industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate, began challenging the ruling party in 2004, when the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, Súmate, promoted a referendum to recall then President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado and other Súmate executives were charged with conspiracy.

She drew the anger of Chávez and his allies the following year for her Oval Office meeting with then U.S. President George W. Bush. Chávez considered Bush an adversary.

Her full transformation into a politician came in 2010 when she was elected to a seat in the National Assembly, receiving more votes than any aspiring lawmaker ever. It was from this position that she boldly interrupted Chávez as he addressed the legislature and called his expropriation of businesses theft.

“An eagle does not hunt a fly,” he responded. The exchange is seared in voters’ memories.

She ran in an opposition primary in 2012, and later launched another presidential push in 2023, ultimately winning the opposition’s primary in a landslide. But a ban from holding public office prevented her from running against Maduro in the 2024 election, and her allies instead backed Edmundo González, a former diplomat. 

González crushed Maduro by a more than a two-to-one margin, according to voting machine records collected by the opposition and validated by international observers. Still, Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, loyal to the ruling party, declared Maduro the winner of the July 28, 2024, contest.

People protested the results across the country, and the government responded with full force, arresting more than 2,000 people and accusing them of plotting to oust Maduro and sow chaos. 

Machado went into hiding and later made a brief public appearance during protests ahead of Maduro’s January inauguration. She was briefly detained after joining supporters in the protest, and went into hiding Jan. 9, 2025. 

In October 2025, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded Machado the Nobel Peace Prize for promoting democratic rights and her struggle for a transition to democracy. 

Hours after waving from the balcony of a hotel to a cheering crowd gathered outside in Norway, Machado told reporters that she would continue the fight for her homeland’s democracy and promised to return soon.

“My return will be when we believe the security conditions are right, and it won’t depend on whether or not the regime leaves,” she said. “It will be as soon as possible.”

Machado has also backed liberal economic reforms, including privatization of state-owned companies like Venezuela’s oil giant PDVSA.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.