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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAmong the first measures of the new Trump administration was the issuance of a series of executive orders to curb irregular immigration. One of the migrant communities most affected by this decision was the Venezuelan one, with the designation of the Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organization<\/a>, since nationality alone became sufficient to criminalize Venezuelans in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this context, one of the most controversial episodes in the political struggle for Venezuelan democracy took place. The Venezuelan opposition leadership, following the electoral fraud of 2024, bet on a U.S. military intervention as the only means to depose Nicol\u00e1s Maduro after the failed electoral contest. Despite the illegitimacy of Maduro\u2019s political regime, the overwhelming support for the opposition candidate, Edmundo Gonz\u00e1lez, was not enough to force Maduro to acknowledge his defeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this scenario, the leader of the opposition movement, Mar\u00eda Corina Machado, not only endorsed the official narrative that criminalizes Venezuelans in the United States\u2014by insisting on Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s alleged role as leader of the Tren de Aragua\u2014but also validated falsehoods such as the manipulation of Joe Biden\u2019s 2020 presidential election, in a futile attempt to secure the Trump administration\u2019s support for her calls for intervention in Venezuela.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although the prospect of a military intervention seemed far from imminent, the beginning of a series of attacks on small vessels\u2014first in the Caribbean and later in the Pacific\u2014changed perceptions about the White House\u2019s real intentions. The strategy pointed to the fight against drug trafficking, under the argument of the de facto leader of Venezuela\u2019s responsibility for drug trafficking. Even though fentanyl was mentioned\u2014a substance for which Venezuela is not a transit country\u2014the Trump administration insisted that this was an anti-drug effort, with the backing of Mar\u00eda Corina Machado, who has repeatedly accused Nicol\u00e1s Maduro of being involved in the drug business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After 28 attacks on vessels, with more than 110 fatalities, President Trump escalated the threat against the Maduro regime by seizing oil tankers transporting Venezuelan crude. Even as the White House rejected the notion of an interest in regime change, reality pointed precisely to an aggressive strategy aimed at forcing Maduro out of power through financial strangulation\u2014an approach publicly supported by the dominant sectors of the opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Following an initial incursion into Venezuelan territory\u2014something Trump had hinted at on repeated occasions\u2014the opposition leadership expressed optimism about the country\u2019s democratic future. The capture of Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, along with Cilia Flores, in the early hours of January 3 initially caused surprise and then gave way to a fleeting euphoria, given the uncertainty surrounding the country\u2019s immediate future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In her lobbying for a more aggressive policy toward the Maduro regime, Mar\u00eda Corina Machado insisted on the government\u2019s weakness and on the alleged support of 80% of the Armed Forces for a democratic exit. However, just days after the military extraction operation in Venezuela<\/a>, it appears that it was not only Maduro who was decapitated. The Trump administration\u2019s decision to discard the opposition\u2014specifically Machado\u2014has been devastating for the aspirations of a democratic transition in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The arguments put forward by Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicate that opposition weakness is not limited to a lack of influence within the military sector. Rubio emphasized that the absence of opposition leadership within Venezuela did not guarantee an orderly transition under Machado\u2019s leadership, despite her indisputable prominence. For Rubio, the problem is that U.S. interests are oriented toward achieving stability in the country, and the lack of opposition cohesion poses a risk to those plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n