Original article: “Es una vergüenza”: activista venezolano de DD.HH. cuestiona Nobel de la Paz a Machado por pedir intervención militar 

Venezuelan Human Rights Activist Critiques Nobel Peace Prize Award to Machado for Advocating Military Intervention

Venezuelan human rights activist Gabriel Aguirre has condemned the granting of the Nobel Peace Prize to the far-right opposition leader María Corina Machado, despite her calls for military intervention in Venezuela.

During an interview on the La Mañanera program hosted by Javier Pineda Olcay, the Latin America organizer for the global movement «World Beyond War» stated that the decision by the Norwegian Nobel Committee «is truly a disgrace.»

«The Venezuelan people and the global peace movement, particularly in Venezuela, have been aware for many years of the tarnished reputation of the Nobel Peace Prize, recalling that it has been awarded to individuals such as former U.S. President Barack Obama, who promoted wars and various interventions in the Middle East and was responsible for implementing unilateral coercive measures against Venezuela,» he said.

Aguirre pointed out that throughout her political career, the 57-year-old far-right leader has represented the most radical faction of the opposition to both the late former president Hugo Chávez and the current Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro.

«This, of course, is a disgraceful fact. Machado has repeatedly declared in public information across various media that it is easy to discover her statements with just a quick search on the internet. She has openly called for foreign military intervention against Venezuela, advocating for an international military coalition,» he questioned.

He recalled that in 2019, the far-right leader called for the application of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (TIAR), «a military alliance, which, like the OAS, is also quite discredited.»

«At that time, Ms. María Corina Machado demanded the formation of a regional military alliance to intervene in Venezuela, and she even sought support from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ‘resolve’ the problem in Venezuela,» he stated, while also mentioning her repeated appeals to various forces within the United States, both Democrats and Republicans, urging them to intervene in Venezuela.

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded annually to the individual deemed by the committee members to have contributed the most towards fulfilling the terms established in the will of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish chemist whose fortune established the Nobel Prizes.

According to the statutes, the prize must be awarded «to the person who has accomplished the most or the best work for fraternity between nations and the abolition or reduction of standing armies and the formation and dissemination of peace congresses.»

In this regard, Aguirre noted that the «most ironic thing is that once the award is received, Machado has continued her repeated calls.»

«Another important point is that Ms. María Corina Machado, in terms of Venezuela’s internal policy, has had countless situations and moments where she has called upon her supporters, which are quite few, to follow her wildly violent approach to resolving what they consider to be the problem of Venezuela, aiming for violence, internal confrontation, and the escalation of a civil war.»

«Those of us who have had the opportunity to learn about other countries that have faced civil wars, such as Colombia, know what a social fracture would mean for our people in the event of a civil confrontation. And Ms. María Corina Machado has repeatedly pushed for this. Thus, this is an award we must openly question as it is a disgraceful one, given that one of the most internationally criticized awards is that of Ms. María Corina Machado,» he emphasized.

Aguirre also mentioned that once the announcement of the award was made, «the topic was a hot discussion for two or three days, and then no one spoke about it again.»

U.S. Military Interventions Are Plagued by False Narratives

«In other words, even those who dared to award the prize, those who have been participants in these policies, do not dare today to defend this disgrace before the public. Therefore, this is truly an embarrassment,» he underscored.

During the interview with La Mañanera, Aguirre also discussed the military deployment and aggressions perpetrated by the United States in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela.

As part of this offensive, Washington deployed eight ships and a submarine near Venezuelan shores, a measure the administration of then-President Donald Trump justified under the fight against drug trafficking.

«We are immensely concerned and have sought to raise our voice and elevate the denunciation against the most recent military deployment carried out by the United States, specifically in the Caribbean area, where they have mobilized 10,000 troops, including special forces, primarily under the logistical support and operation of Southern Command of the Armed Forces,» Aguirre stated.

He also criticized the Republican magnate’s decision to mobilize the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the Gerald R. Ford, who announced with «great fanfare» that this impressive warship was heading to the Caribbean coast of Venezuela supposedly to address an issue that we have reiterated is based on a false narrative, namely the alleged fight against drug trafficking, drug cartels, and other groups that the United States characterizes as a supposed threat to its national security.

Aguirre recalled that the history of U.S. military interventions is rife with false narratives used to violate the sovereignty of countries. «They did it in Vietnam, under the guise of a war on opium; they did it in Iraq, with the alleged context of weapons of mass destruction that Saddam Hussein possessed; they did it in Afghanistan, pretending to combat terrorism and Taliban forces and Al-Qaeda. What we have seen has been a false narrative ingrained in U.S. history that ends up being a crude justification, an excuse that is not easily swallowed in the current world, but we have the duty to point it out,» he remarked.

«And why do we say this is a crude justification and assertion? Because it has been more than expressed and evidenced that 85% of people traveling from Latin America to the United States transit through the Pacific, not the Caribbean. This has been acknowledged by the governments of Colombia. This has been recognized by governments such as Ecuador, which is not very aligned with defending the principles of regional sovereignty, and additionally, in the recent report from the United Nations Drugs and Crime Commission, which highlights two important points: the percentage of drug transit from this continent to the United States and, secondly, that declares Venezuela as a country free of internal drugs, coca leaf cultivation, and of course, its processing into illicit drugs like cocaine and others,» he emphasized.

«Thus, we see that we are facing a grave fact (…) actions are being committed that go against and, of course, violate the most fundamental norms of international law. The extrajudicial executions being committed and summary actions taken by the United States in the Caribbean under bombings and kinetic attacks to neutralize alleged drug trafficking cells is a public condemnation, a blatant violation of human rights. The United States does this impudently under the complacent gaze of many countries, including regional bodies that should speak on this issue because, as we have also stated in several spaces, regardless of whether these individuals are proven to be drug traffickers or engaged in any alleged illicit activity in Caribbean waters, no one has the right to carry out such executions. Furthermore, there exists a principle in international law, which is the principle of proportionality in the use of force,» he argued.

However, he highlighted the unity and resilience the Venezuelan people have shown in the face of continuous aggression from Washington.

«The Venezuelan people have been subjected to various types of political, economic, diplomatic, and military aggression for many years. In response to each of these aggressions utilized by imperialism in its plans against Venezuela, the people’s response has remained the same: unity among the Venezuelan people and reaffirmation of their status as a sovereign nation and a rebellious people that does not waver in the face of various assaults suffered personally, as a people, as a society, in various forms and at different levels,» he expressed.

87% of Venezuelans Would Reject Foreign Military Intervention

Aguirre pointed out that in response to the psychological operation activated by the Trump administration «to test social responses, gauge international public opinion, and assess internal political factors and how they regroup against various scenarios,» the Venezuelan people have remained united despite their ideological differences, which in political terms is quite important.

«A recent survey indicates that 87% of Venezuelans would reject foreign military intervention. About 7-8% are unsure or do not respond, while approximately 2% would agree with the outlandish idea of military intervention in Venezuela,» he mentioned.

Aggression Against Maduro Would Ignite ‘Fire in Venezuela’

During the conversation with La Mañanera, El Ciudadano’s director, Javier Pineda Olcay, asked Gabriel Aguirre what could happen in Venezuela should there be aggression or the assassination of President Nicolás Maduro and whether a scenario of «normality» would emerge, as proposed by María Corina Machado and the far-right Venezuelan faction advocating for military intervention in the Caribbean nation.

The human rights activist responded that one would need to «ask the peoples of the Middle East if with the assassination of Saddam Hussein, the situation in Iraq was resolved; one should ask whether the assassination of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya resolved the situation; and whether the assassination of Osama Bin Laden improved the situation in Afghanistan.»

He stated that the impact of such an action is clear in history, indicating that «the Venezuelan people would only ignite widespread fire across the region and within the country itself.»

«The Venezuelan people are characterized as a rebellious people that certainly defend the principles of self-determination and are very clear about their path for existence. Undoubtedly, an eventual aggression of this kind would be impossible to control (…) They think that any military operation would be an extraction operation, and they have said as much. But it is evident that in Venezuela, the spirit of our people is indomitable and rebellious (…) I refer to the history of our country. Venezuela has never been under any domination, and this will not be the first instance where this occurs. We are confident that the Venezuelan people remain faithful to their principles and to the first line of our national anthem, ‘Glory to the Brave People,’ which is how our people would express themselves,» he emphasized.

However, he clarified that neither the leaders nor the people of the Caribbean nation have raised the banner of war.

«Venezuela has never raised the banners of war. Venezuela has always raised the banners of peace. Even in these difficult times, Venezuela continues to call for peace, dialogue, and negotiation as a way to resolve issues politically, peacefully, and through negotiation while respecting national sovereignty and the democratic values established in the Democratic Charter of the United Nations. This is precisely what our people have clamored for. Now, those who drum for war will have to answer to history regarding what might happen in our country. That is the undeniable truth,» he concluded.

Below, you can watch the full interview from the Thursday, October 30 episode of La Mañanera.