Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado held a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, immediately sparking debate after she hailed the fight against aggressive “totalitarian forces.” Netanyahu’s office immediately presented the conversation as a strong public endorsement of Israel’s ongoing military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Dual Messaging on Middle East
Writing on X, Netanyahu’s office claimed that Machado told the Israeli leader she “greatly appreciates his decisions and resolute actions in the course of the war.” The statement further specified that the Venezuelan opposition figure also praised the recently achieved temporary agreement for the release of hostages held captive in Gaza.
However, the opposition leader, who won the Nobel for her courageous resistance against authoritarian Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, published a separate post on X that consciously avoided any direct mention of Israel and the contentious Gaza conflict. Instead, in her own carefully worded statement, Machado emphasized that achieving genuine peace always “requires immense courage, strength, and moral clarity to stand against the totalitarian forces that oppose us.”
“Just as we fight vigorously for freedom and democracy in Venezuela, all nations in the Middle East certainly deserve a future built on fundamental dignity, justice, and hope, not constant fear,” she added, broadening the geopolitical scope of her comment.
Crucially, she did directly call out the powerful Iranian regime, labeling it “a key supporter of the Maduro regime,” demonstrating a clear strategic alignment against Tehran. Furthermore, Machado linked Iran to regional instability, noting it also “backs terrorist organizations like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.”
Regional Fallout and History of Ties
Consequently, the conversation quickly drew criticism from regional figures, as Colombia’s left-wing president Gustavo Petro, a consistently fierce critic of Prime Minister Netanyahu, last week publicly questioned the prestigious Nobel award given to Machado.
Petro highlighted her past outreach to the Israeli leader, which sought substantial support for her persistent campaign to successfully oust President Maduro. Notably, Venezuela does not maintain diplomatic ties with Israel, a relationship severed by Maduro’s predecessor, socialist Hugo Chavez, back in 2009 in protest following the previous 2008 Gaza military operation, creating lasting regional rifts.
