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Americas|Venezuela’s ‘Iron Lady’ Pleads With Trump to Save Her Country’s Democracy
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/18/world/americas/venezuela-trump-maria-machado-democracy.html
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She galvanized a nation to oust Venezuela’s autocrat at the ballot box, spending months surrounded by people and filling avenues with supporters who risked beatings and arrest just to hear her speak.
Now, with President Nicolás Maduro accused of stealing the election and his government threatening her capture, María Corina Machado, Venezuela’s wildly popular opposition leader, has gone into hiding — alone.
In a series of rare, in-depth virtual interviews since she mobilized millions to vote against Mr. Maduro in July, Ms. Machado said she was holed up in a secret location somewhere inside her country. Because anyone who helps her could be detained — or might lead government agents to her — she said she has not had a visitor in months.
Nicknamed the country’s “Iron Lady” for her conservative politics and steely resolve, Ms. Machado is, she admitted, “longing for a hug.”
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Her mother has urged her to meditate. She has not.
Instead, the former lawmaker is working around the clock, taking virtual meetings with foreign ministers and human rights organizations, urging them to remember that a broad coalition of nations acknowledge that her chosen candidate, Edmundo González, won the July vote by a wide margin and should be taking office in January.
