Caracas (AFP) – The leader of the Venezuelan opposition and Nobel Peace Prize winner, María Corina Machado, said on Thursday that Venezuela "needs much more than money", following the unprecedented oil agreement reached between the United States and the interim government of Delcy Rodríguez, whose legitimacy she objects to.

First modification: 09/03/2026 - 18:33

In a video recorded from exile, and published in X, Machado said that "the oil sector is only part of the immense reconstruction" in Venezuela," which "requires colossal investments."

"In a country with the dimensions and institutional fragility of Venezuela, no sector will be able to function in isolation," said Machado, who left Venezuela clandestinely in December to receive the Nobel Peace Prize and currently lives in Panama.

The president of the United States, Donald Trump, announced last week the signing of a "historic" agreement with Venezuela that grants his country 20% of the gigantic Venezuelan oil reserves.

The agreement gives the United States control of 65,000 million barrels of crude oil in 17 fields in different areas of the country.

Venezuela considers that it will obtain benefits of 209,000 million dollars in 25 years.

"All of this gives Venezuela an extraordinary strategic value, both for the national security of the United States and for the stability of the hemisphere. But the heritage of our soil does not belong to an ILLEGITIMATE REGIME, it belongs to the Venezuelan people," said Machado.

"The enemies of the United States in Venezuela are today in Miraflores," the government palace, Machado said.

They are not "ready"

After signing agreements with oil multinationals such as Chevron and Eni on Wednesday in Caracas, Trump and Delcy Rodríguez agreed that Venezuela is not ready to hold elections.

"I just don't think they're ready yet. You know, it's a very new thing. We got them out of a dictatorship and we're getting along very well with the government," Trump said Wednesday.

The opposition leader's message occurs eight months after the capture of Nicolás Maduro in a US military operation.

After taking office in January as interim president, Rodríguez promoted laws in the oil and mining sectors to attract private investment.

The US president has praised Rodríguez's management on several occasions.

Machado defended the alliance with the United States, but assured that the country must work "under the non-negotiable principles of absolute transparency, legality and efficiency."

This, he asserted, "is only possible with the legitimacy and stability offered by a serious and democratic government."

The opposition denounces electoral fraud by Maduro in the last presidential elections of 2024, and claims the victory in those elections of Edmundo González, a candidate sponsored by Machado.

The opposition leader was politically disqualified and could not be a candidate on that occasion.

"Sadness and anger"

"I know what you are feeling: sadness, anger and that discomfort so repeated in our history because someone decides about ours, in our name, without counting on us," Machado said in his message, underlining the "deep concern about the implications it has" for the future of Venezuela.

The leader promises that she will return to Venezuela, but specialists point out that Washington does not view her return favorably.

In August, a political dialogue began in Caracas between the interim government and a part of the opposition in view of a democratic transition, but Machado was not invited.

This negotiating table has been sponsored by Washington.

The Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, announced on Wednesday in an interview with Fox News that the new round of negotiations will begin in about 10 days.

Maduro, 63 years old and accused of four crimes, including "narco-terrorism," requested on Thursday before a court in New York to dismiss the charges against him, appealing to his immunity as head of state.

Venezuela has the largest certified hydrocarbon reserves in the world, with more than 300,000 million barrels. But its production remains very limited after decades of underinvestment, sanctions and corruption.

© 2026 AFP

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