STORY: Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado released a manifesto on Tuesday (November 18) declaring that Venezuela stands "on the threshold of a new era" and demanding accountability for crimes against humanity committed under President Nicolas Maduro's government.

In a video message she announced the "Freedom Manifesto," filmed from an undisclosed location, Machado proclaimed that "this regime's long and violent abuse of power is coming to an end" and that "a new Venezuela is emerging from the ashes."

The opposition leader, who has been in hiding for over a year, framed her message around fundamental human rights and made an urgent appeal for international attention to Venezuela's political prisoners.

Machado has been underground since the disputed July 28, 2024, elections, which ended with Maduro retaining power despite widespread allegations of fraud. Machado was forced into hiding, and her running mate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, went into exile in Spain.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

VIDEO SHOWS: SOUNDBITES FROM NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER AND VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER, MARIA CORINA MACHADO

SHOWS: UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION (RELEASED ON NOVEMBER 18, 2025) (@MARIACORINAYA VIA X - No resale/ No archive/ Must on-screen courtesy @MariaCorinaYa via X)

1. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER AND VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER, MARIA CORINA MACHADO, SAYING:

"We are on the threshold of a new era, one in which our natural rights will prevail. This regime's long and violent abuse of power is coming to an end. A new Venezuela is emerging from the ashes. Renewed in spirit and united in purpose."

2. WHITE FLASH

3. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER AND VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER, MARIA CORINA MACHADO, SAYING:

"Freedom is not a privilege granted by the government, but rather a right inherent to the very nature of our humanity. Every Venezuelan is born with inalienable rights granted by our Creator, not by men. No regime, political system, or tyranny has the power to take away what is divinely ours. The right to live with dignity, to speak freely, to create, to dream, and to prosper as individuals."

4. WHITE FLASH

5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER AND VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER, MARIA CORINA MACHADO, SAYING:

"The cries of the murdered, tortured and disappeared have it go unanswered for too long since Maduro assumed power. More than 18,000 political prisoners have suffered. Each one serves as a testament to the regime's brutality. These are human lives, our friends, families, colleagues, and companions. The world must not turn its back. The criminal regime must be held accountable. Venezuela will only fully arise when those who committed crimes against humanity are held accountable by both the law and history.