TEHRAN – María Corina Machado’s role in Venezuela’s crisis shows how powerful nations use local leaders for their own goals. For years she was seen as the face of the opposition, someone who could stand against Nicolás Maduro.

 When U.S. forces attacked Caracas and kidnapped Maduro, her name was mentioned as a possible leader. But Donald Trump quickly dismissed her, saying she “doesn’t have the support or the respect within the country” and that it would be “very tough for her to be the leader.” He admitted she was not even consulted before the operation.

This shows how Washington treats allies. Machado was useful as a symbol for a short time, but once the U.S. had control, she was no longer needed. Like a pawn in chess, she was moved forward to give the appearance of Venezuelan choice, then pushed aside when the bigger strategy demanded it.

For Venezuelans, this was a painful reminder that their struggle is not really about freedom but about oil, power, and geopolitics. Even opposition leaders who fight against ruling systems are ignored when empire decides the rules. The future of Venezuela is being shaped in Washington and New York, not Caracas.

Machado’s experience is less about personal defeat than about what her treatment reveals. Trump’s blunt dismissal—that she lacked support and respect in Venezuela—showed that Washington never intended to let her lead. She became a symbol of how local figures, even those who fight for democracy, are sidelined once foreign powers take control. Her case highlights a larger truth: when empire intervenes, national voices are reduced to props, and sovereignty itself is the piece most easily sacrificed.