Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met with Nobel Prize laureate and Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.
Jerusalem’s top diplomat called the head of the Vente Venezuela party “a courageous woman, and her struggle is a source of inspiration to many in Venezuela and beyond.”
Glad to meet with Nobel Peace Prize laureate @MariaCorinaYa. María Corina Machado is a courageous woman, and her struggle is a source of inspiration to many in Venezuela and beyond. We discussed developments in Venezuela since the historic U.S. Operation "Absolute Resolve", led… pic.twitter.com/94r598CJ4u
— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) February 3, 2026
Sa’ar said that they “discussed developments in Venezuela since the historic U.S. Operation ‘Absolute Resolve’ led by President Trump,” referring to January’s U.S. military raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife and flew them to New York to face trial.
“I wish the people of Venezuela that they may soon be able to choose their leadership in free elections, after the long years of repression under Maduro and Chávez,” Sa’ar added.
For her part, Machado wrote on X that she was “truly grateful for the opportunity to engage in an extensive conversation about the challenges and opportunities we face in a process that is already moving Venezuela toward democracy.”
Machado continued: “Our country will be a reliable and stable partner for the world’s democracies and will offer major opportunities for investment and exchange. Venezuela’s reintegration into the democratic world will also allow us to build global alliances in the face of those who threaten our security.
“Israel and Venezuela have historically shared very close ties, which we will reclaim and strengthen in this new era of democracy and freedom,” she said.
