Maria Corina Machado, the leader of the Venezuelan opposition and a central figure in the country’s struggle for democratic change, was asked about the possibility of a US invasion of Venezuela. Her answer flipped the question on its head.

Machado said Venezuela has already been invaded — not by the US, but by forces that have deeply destabilized the country from within. She pointed directly at agents of Russia, Hezbollah terrorists, and transnational criminal gangs that operate freely under the Maduro regime.

According to Machado, these foreign and terrorist actors have embedded themselves in political, military, and economic structures across the country, accelerating corruption, empowering cartels, and turning Venezuela into a hub of external influence hostile to Western interests.