‘Let’s bomb more countries!’: Row over Machado saying Cuba and Nicaragua will be ‘freed’

Venezuela’s Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado wants not only her own country to be freed from dictatorship but also Cuba and Nicaragua, with social media comments saying the Latin-American leader is pushing warmongering. Her own country was raided by the US military recently, in which their leader, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife were captured. Machado spoke to the press in Washington during meetings with US lawmakers and said the US can free countries of communism. She states: “Venezuela will be free. And once we liberate Venezuela, we will keep working, and we will have a free Cuba and a free Nicaragua.”Her remarks faced backlash as the internet called her a hypocrite and said she is not worthy of the Nobel.

Machado is a Venezuelan opposition leader who won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her long campaign for democracy and human rights in her country. She was honoured in Oslo for her “tireless work promoting democratic rights” and her efforts toward a peaceful transition from dictatorship.Earlier this month, Machado visited Washington and met US President Donald Trump at the White House, where she presented him with her Nobel Peace Prize medal as a token of gratitude for his support for Venezuelan ‘freedom’. The Nobel Institute, in a statement, clarified that the physical medal can be gifted, but the title of Nobel laureate cannot be transferred.Under Trump, US policy toward Cuba has been strict, reinforcing the economic embargo, banning US tourism, and limiting trade with military‑controlled entities. The MAGA chief has criticised the government for repressing freedoms, demanded the release of political prisoners, and warned Cuba to “make a deal before it is too late” amid regional tensions. But right now, the US prez has eyes on Greenland as the main priority to secure a strategic region to counter Russia and China.