Corruption in Venezuela Exposed by María Corina Machado
Maria Corina Machado joins Patrick Bet-David to discuss her fight against Venezuela’s Maduro regime. As an opposition leader, Machado details the political corruption, Maduro's international alliances, and her plea for international support to restore democracy.
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Patrick Bet-David is the founder and CEO of Valuetainment Media. He is the author of the #1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller “Your Next Five Moves” (Simon & Schuster) and a father of 2 boys and 2 girls. He currently resides in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
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I have a special guest here today that she is joining us from an undisclosed location.
So the internet with where she may be is because this is the best way we could do it.
However, I've been looking forward to this for a while because to about 67% of the population in Venezuela, she is seen as the elected presidential candidate.
Millions of devout voters, supporters wanting her to replace Maduro.
And on July 28, a lot of reports came out that they won by 67%.
However, Maduro came out and he said, I won by 50%, one by 2%, 51.2%, whatever numbers he gave.
But Maria, it is great to have you on the show today.
Thank you, Patrick.
It's my honor.
I would ask you where you're based out of today, but I think it's better we don't ask that question.
So I got a couple of questions for you.
Venezuela, I have a lot of friends that are from Venezuela.
I have a lot of folks that I work with that are from Venezuela.
Great people, hardworking.
When I look at the data, I'll say this, and I'm just going to ask an open-ended question for you.
And then I want to go into a bunch of different things that's going on with Venezuela today.
So 18% of world oil reserves, Venezuela has.
This is a place that 60 years ago was two times richer than China, four times richer than Japan, fourth rank world economy, first rank in Latin America.
Currency was number two only to the U.S. dollar.
One of the best health systems.
Amazing things that was going on in Venezuela.
Some of the happiest people around the world.
And then all of a sudden today, in the last 10 years, 7.7 million Venezuelans have left their country.
That's a quarter.
When you look at the misery index, they are ranked second worst misery index in the world to Zimbabwe.
Maria, what happened to the great country of Venezuela?
Well, 25 years of Chavista socialism.
That's what happened.
And they decided to take control of our country, over our country at any cost.
They destroyed every single democratic institution.
They went against private entrepreneurs.
They destroyed the rule of law.
Venezuela today is in the last place globally, the last country in terms of rule of law by the World Justice Project.
And they decided to establish strong liaisons with other regimes such as Russia, China, Iran, and irregular groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, the Guerrilla, and the drug cartels.
This turned into a criminal operation that is using Venezuela as a safe haven to destabilize the whole region, including the United States.
And migration is a consequence of lack of future, Patrick.
And it's part of Maduro's strategy.
We want people to leave so that he will have less social tension within the country.
And at the same time, destabilize the neighborhood.
So, you know, I don't know when this was, but it was earlier this year when President Biden, they negotiated to lift the sanctions with the understanding that he would allow for a fair election.
And everybody's like, oh, what makes you think they're going to have a fair election?
And then he comes out and he says he wins and he beats you guys, yourself and your partner, Edmundo Gonzalez Urutia, I believe, if I'm pronouncing the name properly.
And that has taken place.
What made, did President Biden and Harris administration make a mistake thinking that, yeah, he's going to allow for a fair election to be taking place?
Or did Maduro fool the U.S. president, the vice president?
Well, let me give you a little context of what has happened in the last two years.
Venezuela, at the beginning of 2023, looked deemed hopeless.
A lot of people said, you know, forget about 2024, the presidential election.
Maduro is going to stay by divorce.
People are demoralized, deliberate.
And we decided to start tearing down the barrier Charismo had put within us, dividing us between, you know, black and white, rich and poor, old and young, those that are here, those who have left, and right and left.
I mean, we decided to get a country back together around values, human dignity, justice, solidarity, private property, family.
You know, everywhere I went, people would say, I want my kids back home.
And this is a very strong and powerful feeling.
And that's exactly what we did.
We brought people back together and mobilized and we decided to carry out a primary election.
And this is very important because we had totally lost trust in vote because it has been totally controlled by the Chavista regime and its electoral council, which is totally out by them.
So we carry out citizens' primaries in which they were organized by us, not letting the regime put their hands in.
And everybody said there was going to be a disaster and no one was going to go and vote, perhaps 100,000, 200,000 people.
Patrick, the day came, and over 3 million and so on went out and vote.
It happened just a couple of days ago, one year ago.
So this showed us the degree of our strength.
This brought trust among each other.
I was elected as a presidential candidate, but the regime, of course, El Maduro was very scared to run against me.
So they decided to put me aside illegally.
And what we found, Edundo Bono Sales, as we said, as an alternate candidate, we were able to register him because they thought he was not going to win.
The regime never thought people would vote for him when they wanted to give me their support.
We rallied around the country together without the media, without money.
Patrick, every hotel where we stayed, they would come afterwards and close it.
They would close the gas stations along the routes and the roads so that I could not reach the places I was going.
I'm not allowed to take a plane for over 10 years.
And they even closed the restaurants that were we stopped to have some breakfast in our way to different places.
But we brought this country back together.
We won to the election.
And as you say, under the rules of the tyranny, we won by a landslide in places that TABISPO had always wanted in the last 35 years.
This was the collapse as a political system.
And they decided to unleash a violent campaign that has more than 2,000 people detained.
All of us have to be in hiding because I've been accused of terrorism.
Even children and women have been detained.
And now what the Chavista and Maduro wants is people around the world to pass the page and to turn the other way around.
And this is a moment where I'm reaching out to the US government, US Congress, and the US people to understand how much we need you at this moment.
So I understand that.
But to me, when I think about for you guys to go through what you're going through, the sanctions that you put.
Like even when Trump had the sanctions on Iran, and I'm from Iran, it was working.
Iran didn't know what to do.
The sanctions were pressuring them.
Nobody was lending them money.
Nobody was buying oil from them.
They were going through a lot of problems.
And if I look at the oils, you know, oil sales, you know, barrels, you can see it publicly.
Venezuela wasn't selling a lot of it, right?
And right now, while we're speaking, I think Maduro is with Putin, if I'm not mistaken.
He's in Russia.
He had a visit with him back in 2019.
They have another visit here as well.
And even in July 28, I think when Maduro won, Putin publicly congratulated him.
Congratulations.
We are looking forward to doing business.
And in 2019, I think Putin even called Maduro a reliable leader, a reliable partner in them doing business together.
What I'm asking is right now where you are, Kamala Harris just came out, I think today or yesterday, and she was asked, hey, if Maduro doesn't get out the way, I don't know if you want to pull up the article when they said if Maduro doesn't get out the way, are you willing to do anything you can military for him to leave office?
And Harris says U.S. won't use military if Maduro does not leave office.
If Maduro does not leave office, you're not getting in.
Edmundo is not getting in.
So what is your plan on helping the folks in Venezuela to have this change taking place while they're not under this guy?
Because it's definitely not working under Kamala and Biden.
Are you waiting for potentially it to be Trump to help you with this?
What is your plan?
Well, first of all, let me be very clear.
If Maduro doesn't leave office, it's going to be three, four, or five million Venezuelans leaving our country very soon.
And many of them reach the south border of the United States very soon, because people leave when they feel they do not have a future in their country, when they feel their children's lives are at risk.
And let me tell you, right now, the regime is in its weakest position ever, Patrick.
And I want to be very clear with this, because there are a lot of people that want, you know, simply to give up because it means pushing and pressing more when it should.
And this is the moment to act.
Secretary Lincoln at the United Nations General Assembly said he's going to move from joint statements to joint actions.
And I totally agree.
This is the moment to take those actions.
Maduro has to be held accountable.
I mean, the crimes they have committed, and it's been stated by the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, they call it state terrorism.
Last week in Geneva, the fact-finding initiative of the United Nations said Maduro had committed crimes against humanity before, during, and after the election.
This needs to have consequences.
The perpetrators have to know that they will pay a price to act.
And that's the way you can send the correct incentives for those who are still supporting Maduro to turn the other way around because they don't want to default the same way these individuals who are held accountable currently are.
So this is a moment where we need action.
We cannot wait until January because this is a moment in which the regime is going through a very difficult moment.
Actually, as we speak, you mentioned it, Maduro is hugging with Putin, yes.
But here in Venezuela, the different criminal groups that make up this regime are fighting between them fiercely.
And as I said, this is the moment to show them that the cost of staying in power is going to increase every day that goes by until a point where that cost outweighs the cost of living power.
And that's the moment.
In that moment, that Maduro will sit down and negotiate, not before.
And we need to activate.
Why would he negotiate though?
Why would he negotiate with you?
Because think about it.
So if he is meeting with Putin, Putin's publicly saying, I have his back.
U.S. is defending Zelensky.
Okay.
U.S. has not got Putin's back.
So U.S. is with Zelensky and NATO.
Putin's over there backing up Maduro.
Maduro is giving the middle fingers to U.S. and quite frankly, your party and the people in Venezuela.
Of the 7.7 million people that left Venezuela, 6.5 million are around the surrounding countries, Colombia, some of those places.
Of course, some of the rest of them go different places.
He doesn't have, from the people that I ask on the inside, he doesn't have the loyalty of his military.
His military is fragmented.
You know this.
I'm sure you're already aware that it's not like they love the guy.
However, he does have the loyalty of, you know, I think his name is Cabello, who is the kingpin, you know, who does a, he's been, he is like the way to describe him could be an El Chapo type, maybe a level below what El Chapo is, just for some of the people that may not know who he is.
He has him.
Some of the biggest leaders in Hezbollah are in Venezuela.
They protect him, right?
And the history of Venezuela has been tied to Ahmedi Nejad many years ago.
Ahmadi Nejad and I believe Chavez had some meetings together.
So he has a lot of people that the average person in Venezuela is afraid of that they have his back.
Putin's got his back.
When I saw some of these things that happened with Iran when Iran fell in 78, and I see some of the close, you know, angles with Venezuela, oil, money, rich, all this stuff, nobody eventually had Iran's back.
Kissinger and U.S. is like, we don't have your back.
So then they were alone.
In this scenario, slightly different because Venezuela, Putin has his back.
You know, Hezbollah has his back.
The mob has his back.
Who has your back to defend you to go fight?
Because I've asked you the question a couple of times with Trump and Biden and Kamala.
You sound like a very good politician because you haven't answered it yet.
And I've asked it a couple of times because I don't think you can do it by yourself.
And by the way, please don't be upset when I say this to you.
Back in six years ago or five years ago, we were in contact with a previous candidate who was very motivational.
One, I'm going to butcher his last name, Guaido.
You know, that's how I say it.
I'm sure it's a different way of saying it.
And I was excited about what he was going to do.
There were a lot of people that were excited about him.
And he lives in Miami right now.
Not a lot happens.
When I talk to some of the guys, there's a side that loves you.
They're like, she's the person.
She's the oldest sister of four.
Her father was, you know, all these things they tell me about your background, engineered the stuff that you've not really looked into to see what you've done.
And then there's a side that's worried that, you know, you may be giving signs of one that maybe you're kind of in there doing your thing, but nothing is really getting done.
Again, for the third time, I'm going to ask this question from you.
And I'm really curious if you're going to answer this one or not.
Biden and Harris don't seem to be giving you any support.
Okay.
Trump, right now, a lot of the polls on the battleground state say Trump's going to be winning.
Of course, nobody knows till November 5th.
If he wins Georgia and Pennsylvania, it's over with.
What is your plan and Edmundo's plan to be able to create some alliances so you can do actually what you want to do so the people of Venezuela will be free?
Well, as I said before, this has been a comprehensive strategy.
We certainly need international support.
This is something I've said for years, precisely for what you say, because this is an international geopolitical crisis.
And it is obvious that these other actors want to use Venezuela as a proxy to destabilize the United States.
I mean, I've said this for years, but at the same time, we believe that inside Venezuela, there has a big fight to be given, and that's precisely what we did.
And today it's not the same country as five years ago, not even as five months ago, Patrick.
I mean, we've never had what we have today, because if we had had minimal competitive conditions, this election would have ended in 9010.
Okay, so we have 90% of the population, which is also the proportion that you see in organizations such as the police, such as police or the army.
I mean, that is also true.
The fact that we collected the tallies the day of the election is because we had the cooperation of the army that was deployed all over the country.
So this has to be taken in account.
It's not the same country.
And it's not the same regime.
As I mentioned before, these guys have been weakened and losing support from within and from abroad.
And certainly, I think that even though they have the support of Putin and Iran, those two countries have their own conflicts on their own going on right now.
So they don't have that much support to give to Maduro right now.
So if we move ahead, and I do think the international community and this administration can move forward, there are initiatives, bipartisan initiatives in Congress, and we have managed to maintain that support on both parties because Venezuela is an issue of national security for the United States.
So I think this is a moment, and I wanted to convey this at this point because I really need to reach to both campaigns.
And I really expect much more from both candidates in terms of what can be done as soon as the election takes part.
I don't think we need to wait until January, frankly, because this is the moment.
Remember that by our constitution, the president-elect should take office and sworn be sworn in on January 10.
So we do have a window of opportunity.
We cannot ask ourselves, what are we going to do if Maduro stays in power by force?
The question should be: what can we do now to stop him from doing it and have the legitimate president-elect take office?
And one of the things we are asking the current administration and Congress is to recognize Edmund Gonzalez as president-elect, which he is.
So let me ask you: can you leave the country right now?
I've been banned from Venezuela for over 10 years.
And right now.
There is no way for you to leave?
Could be very, very dangerous.
Can I ask?
Can I say why if you don't leave?
I don't think anything's going to happen if you stay.
And please, I could be wrong, but I'm just challenging you.
We're having a conversation.
You could say you don't know what you're talking about, and I'm comfortable with that.
I'm a grown man.
I'm okay with that.
You're not the first person who says that, but I believe that I'm most useful for this cause in here.
I don't know about that.
And I'll tell you, and I'll give you an idea why I don't think, why I don't think that's the case.
Here's why I think.
I think if I were your campaign strategist and I'm close to you, I'm your brother.
I'm your husband.
I'm your son.
I'm your best friend.
I'm your number one person you trust the most.
I would say, Maria, you speak very good on camera.
You're a very good communicator.
You're very pleasant in the way you speak.
You don't speak like some of the people that don't know how to communicate.
No wonder you do very well because your message is crisp.
The way you communicate is money.
It's clear.
It's very clear for me to understand what you're saying and the audience to understand.
I think if there's one thing that Millai and Bukele did right, they went to all the media platforms and sold everybody why they should care about Argentina.
That's what Millais did.
That's what Bukele did.
And then we're like, why should I care about Argentina?
Who is this guy?
He looks like a rock star kissing girls doing all this stuff.
Who's this guy all about?
And it was like, wow, this guy's got the brass to go to World Economic Forum and give that kind of a speech.
This guy's got the kind of a, you know, in America, we say balls, but maybe it's different words in different countries.
He's got that kind of brass to go and talk to all these guys and tell them why capitalism the best system.
He's that guy.
And, you know, I think for you, if you stay there, less likely it's going to happen.
I think I would advise to leave and go elsewhere and just hit the roadshow, expose every single thing about all these guys.
Matter of fact, I got to, do you have a close relationship?
Do you communicate with Millay or Bukele at all?
Is there any relationship with those two?
I'm in front of Millay.
I don't know Bukele.
Okay.
So Millay, yeah, when I think about what I mean, I've been to Argentina and the people eventually got to point out.
Yes, yes, Patrick, but it's a very different situation.
Look at this.
They could go out and do the roadshow and then they come back and they do the fighting inside.
That's not my case.
If I go out, I cannot come back.
Yes, you can.
And well, I will be detained.
No, yes, but let me give you an idea.
I'm accused of terrorism.
Laduros is searching for me.
They said Giodal Cabero, whom you mentioned, they say they are looking for me.
They will find me.
And I don't know what they will do if they do find me.
But in any case, I think it's very important to get international community engaged.
And I think we are doing that also with the participation of, as you mentioned, almost 8 million Venezuelans that are doing a great job reaching out.
But at the same time, we need to maintain the will to fight and our people organize within Venezuela.
I think Elundo Gonzalez was able to leave.
So he's not abroad.
Go ahead.
So he's not in Venezuela right now.
He was forced to leave.
He was at an embassy.
They had been protected by an embassy and the regime put in place and very obscure operation and he was forced to leave the country.
But now he is acting, as you said, he's moving around right now in Europe.
He's meeting with prime ministers.
He's going to parliaments.
And we are getting a lot of international support.
Okay.
So let me maybe transition into a different topic here.
When it comes on to Diosdado Cabello, right?
When it comes down to him, for the average person that doesn't know who he is, can you break down who he is to the average person?
He's a former military that was part of SARS coup and has been close to the top group of the regime and involved in all kind of illicit activities.
And right now he has been named Minister of Interior and he's in charge of the police and Looking over the repression and persecution campaigns that Regina is deploying.
Now, I wonder: is he as brutal as people say he is?
Like, do you have any stories of like a certain example?
Well, the day after the election, he put in place a campaign called Operación Tuntun, which meant they would send the police or paramilitaries to visit the homes of citizens that had worked as electoral monitors, for instance.
And they chilled on the doors of the houses, they would take them away, they would mark the doors with crosses.
If they didn't find the people that were looking, I'm talking about citizens that their only task was to be there, watch the process, and get their own talent sheet and give it to us.
And they were persecuting every single person that were involved.
They even imprisoned children.
As we speak, there are 68 minors that have been tortured.
They have been burned.
They had electrical shocks, accused of terrorism.
I speak with their mothers almost every day.
It's heartbreaking, but at the same time, you know, they are the ones that give me strength and tell me, you know, to keep fighting for their children.
So, Maduro is committing a huge mistake.
The way he decided to go all the way with violence and isolate himself from the rest of the world.
Believe me, not even in the BRICS meeting, Maduro is wanted now.
He's absolutely toxic.
He's a pariah.
So he certainly is trying to make the world think that he will stay at any cost, because that gives the incentives for countries around the world, including the United States, to simply try to turn the page and look and concentrate on other issues.
There is no other single conflict in the Western Hemisphere that is a priority for national security as it is Venezuela.
And believe me, there is a true possibility to solve it in the short term if we act now.
Because the consequence of not doing this would be, as I said before, five or six million Venezuelans live in the country.
You know, the way that these criminal gangs, some of them are reaching the United States already, are being organized from Venezuela.
They have not left Venezuela.
They are organized from Venezuela and they operate in a whole continent.
The way the stabilization, political destabilization of the region is increasing.
And finally, I have to say this: I mean, there is no other single country in the region, Patrick, that could turn into the energy ally, trustable energy ally.
You mentioned it before about our oil reserves as Venezuela.
You know, the metrics of recruits match perfectly with the United States system.
This can only be taken advantage of if you have an open market system in which the rule of law is respected, in which private property is respected, and which you can have external investment stimulated.
And that will happen with us.
So, I mean, from every perspective that you look at is at this, it is a top priority and a win-win situation for the United States.
Let me ask you: when we look at Brazil, what Lula is doing, right?
And even I think the story came out that Lula was distancing himself from Maduro.
And that's pretty weird for a socialist to even say they're distancing themselves from Maduro is a little bit weird.
But is Cabello, Cabello, is he at the same level to Maduro as Alessandre de Moraes is to Lula?
Is he that powerful or not that powerful?
Look, I would say that things start moving as we speak.
And any answer that you get from someone right now, Venezuela would be speculation.
I would say he's very powerful at this point, but this is a very unstable situation, what's taking place and regarding for all of them, for the regime, for the regime.
I mean, they just look, Maduro last week decided to take out the chief of the civil intelligence unit and the military intelligence unit.
Two of them at the same day.
And these were top individuals that had been for years with them.
He then got into prison, the last president of Pedevesa, the oil company.
He took it off out.
Now he's in prison and he's going against people that were in his surroundings.
So this is a moment in which it's very hard to know which way against whom they are going.
But as I say, it's a situation of enormous instability in which the whole country desires, and I'm talking about the military as well, a pacific, peaceful transition to democracy.
The way, I guess this is the power question I'm trying to find out.
Does Cabello own Maduro or does Maduro own Cabello?
Who owes who?
Who owns who?
I would say that so far they have needed each other.
I'm not going to speculate who is going to win this fight.
But right now, it's true things are not at a good moment for them.
And it shows the regime has deeper fractures than people used to think.
Deeper fractures than they used to think.
Okay.
Who do they fear?
Who does Cabello and Maduro fear?
Who do they fear?
That's a good question.
I think they certainly fear that an international coalition that decides to hold them accountable will be deployed, that the resources they are getting from illicit activities such as drug trafficking and gold smuggling and trafficking of human beings will be stopped and will be blocked.
And a law enforcement approach that would make it much harder for them to develop these obscure activities is something they certainly fear.
I have to say that, for instance, in the gold sector, much of those resources end up in the international finance system.
And many of those countries know, they know it.
They do nothing about it.
And the United States has a lot of information that has not been disclosed that shows much of these wrongdoings that ought to be to come out to the light.
So that the tensions and difference among these groups gets harder and harder.
I do think they fear the international criminal court.
I do think they fear international justice.
And that's why that has to move much faster.
If it has to move faster, it doesn't look like Kamala Harris and Biden are urgent to move it faster.
You need international help.
If U.S. doesn't help you, who's going to help you?
Canada?
Europe?
NATO?
Who's going to help you?
It's only U.S.
So that's why I'm asking a question about are you in regular communication with their administration or Trump's administration?
Right now, I'm in regular communication with the U.S. government as well as other governments, all other governments in the region.
How familiar are you what happened to Iran's revolution, how Iran fell?
How familiar are you to it?
I know it very well.
And Patrick, I know there are lessons we have to take into account from every single of these episodes.
But believe me, you know, I've heard so many times it was impossible to do what we did.
You know, all these years, people saying it was impossible to defeat the regime, to get our country back in their foot.
And that's precisely what we did.
So my message now to convey is we've come so far.
You know, this has nothing to do with any other moment previously, any other moment.
A whole bunch of conditions that have come together at the same time are in place right now that makes this a unique opportunity.
And it would mean, I mean, the two outcomes would mean a huge difference for the region and for the United States.
And I agree with you.
This is the time to act.
It is time to understand what things didn't work and which did.
But the fact is that we did have an election and there's no way that the world can look the other way around and simply forget about it.
And you tell me when you're going to have another election in Latin America to be respected.
I mean, it's a horrible thing.
If you're in Venezuela and we're not even hearing, how many interviews are you doing in Venezuela today?
How are the people hearing from you right now?
How are people around the world hearing from you right now?
What platform are you using?
Because the internet is choppy.
So it's going to be tough for you to do a lot of these things on mainstream media and other podcasts.
How are you getting your message out?
Well, I get a lot of interviews, and I'm not the only one.
We have a lot of people abroad that are conveying our message as well.
It's not that I want to diminish my responsibility, but I think we're reaching out to a lot of individuals.
And as I was saying, it's not how many governments.
And I think we're right in that sense, reach out to the people.
We have to make Americans understand why Venezuela is a priority for you as well and how it will impact you.
And in that sense, I think we are organizing more and more our diaspora, which is huge and it's super active.
And they're doing a great job.
So we have 80 days in front of us that will make the whole difference for Venezuela history for millions.
And these are days in which we need to put people there and here to act.
Regardless of what happens on November the 5th, it is for this actful government to act, not to wait until January.
That's my point.
I mean, we do have a breakup opportunity.
And this government can do things that will benefit whoever comes afterwards.
They're not going to act.
The wishful thinking of you thinking they're going to act, you're going to join a lot of other countries that were hoping they were.
You're not going to ask, but that's my opinion.
I could be wrong, and I'm very comfortable being wrong.
But let me ask you about the trend that the Aragua, right?
This is the gang in Venezuela, very powerful, very strong.
How would you compare them to MS-13, Mara Sabatrucha?
How comparable are they to them?
Well, they have different tactics, and certainly Entrender Agua managed to grow beyond borders much faster.
I mean, they are acting in North America.
They got the support from the government.
And I think that's a big difference.
I mean, this regime in Venezuela actually gave them safe heavens of territory for them to operate.
And that's how they start getting stronger and stronger and involved in all kinds of different illegal activities.
And well, you know how the jail system works in Venezuela.
So jails end up being also safe havens for criminal gangs to coordinate their activities from within the jails.
And that's how Trenderagua also grew and expanded.
So now it has certainly its tentacles all around the hemisphere, but beneath me still gets support from within Venezuela.
And that's what ought to be understood.
If you want to get rid of these gangs, if you want to reduce drug trafficking that go through Venezuela as it never did before, and if people keep on growing, if we want to stop migration, if we want to stop the liaisons of U.S. enemies such as Iran and Russia, we need to go to the cause of the problem.
The cause of the problem is a regime that has turned Venezuela into the hub, the criminal hub of the Americas.
We have the chance to turn it into the energy hub of the Americas.
And we need you now.
In that sense, we both agree.
But my difference with you is that we should not wait until January because this is a moment in which the regime is very weak, unstable.
Yeah, so I don't disagree.
Even Mike, you know, even if you look at Chevron, Chevron is not a fan of putting sanctions on Venezuela because he wants to buy the oil, right?
He's thinking about from the business.
There's a lot of people that have different opinions.
So it's like, no, don't do this and don't do that.
It's still good.
Let's just, it's okay.
We can't get involved in a business.
You know, why do we want to get involved?
Just leave them alone.
So, so let me let me understand this.
So Maduro has a trend de uh Aragua.
He has Cabello.
He has the Hezbollahs that are locally dealt.
And he has Russia.
And those are the people that you guys have to go up against.
Yeah, and we won the election, even though we had everything against us.
And we were able to prove it, even though everybody said we wouldn't do it.
So now it is a moment in which the regime, I'm going to say that once again, certainly is looking desperately to get support from all those groups.
I don't think he was very successful in his recent visit to Russia.
He didn't get remarkable that precisely Lulia and Petro, they decided not to recognize Maduro's fraud because they understand that this is an issue that goes beyond ideological issues, Patrick.
And since you mentioned the energy companies, I want to be very clear with this issue because people try to not evade this answer.
I want to be direct with you.
We certainly want big, strong, honest, competent corporations in energy to come and invest in Venezuela.
But we want to do them complying with our laws and helping to develop a country, not to destroy it.
Right now, when they operate in Venezuela, they are forced to have a partnership with the most corrupt oil company in the world.
And most of the resources they give to the country, to the government are used to persecute and to promote migration, which is paradoxical.
So we believe these companies should reduce their operations until we have a transition to democracy, which can take place very soon.
And have them being partners of this transition in order to liberate Venezuela and then be able to have huge transparent operations that comply with all the standards of transparency, environment, and so on, which are not being held in Venezuela today.
Last thing before we wrap up is I just went on your Twitter.
I noticed you're active.
So Twitter X is available in Venezuela today, right?
That 10 days is done.
It's open now.
Well, you need to have access to a VPN, but yes.
And look, we won our campaign only with social media.
Only with social media.
That's great.
I didn't spend one dollar in publicity.
I didn't get one single interview on national or radio TV.
Not one.
It was all done organically with social media.
And that's how we got here.
And I got to tiny little places where there wasn't light or internet and people, young people would say, I saw you yesterday in this TikTok.
And I said, how come?
How could you know?
And, you know, sometimes there were their sisters or brothers that live abroad and that with information.
So this was a truly grassroots process.
Look, we didn't give up, give away not even one t-shirt.
People had to pay for it.
So people that were very, very, very poor, and they would come to me and say, look, I paid $4 for my t-shirt by La Corina.
I'm so proud.
This is the kind of movement that was made, you know, with discipline, consciousness, and love.
Love for freedom, love for country, and love for children.
And that's why this has no way back.
This has no way back.
This is until the end.
We will prevail, Patrick.
I don't know how many days it would take us to have Maduro be displayed because we defeated him.
But this will happen.
And this is the single most important conflict in the Western hemisphere for new citizens.
And we need you now.
Yeah, I think many of the U.S. citizens would agree with you because, and some of them who don't know, if they knew the impact that you would have in many different ways, it's a great ally.
Historically, it's always been a great ally, minus what's happened the last couple of decades.
But Maria, it's great to have you on.
I appreciate your courage.
I respect your courage.
We're here encouraging you and challenging you to continue doing what you're doing right now.
A lot of the people are relying on you to stay tough and strong and relentless.
And God willing, you'll create alliances from U.S. that they'll help you and they'll keep their promises to help you.
Hopefully, they'll help you.
I'd like to stay optimistic, but I'm naturally, organically, a very paranoid guy.
I'm 51% future looks bright, 49% only the paranoid survive.
And these two flirt with each other all the time.
So we'll see what's going to happen to Venezuela.
But I appreciate your time.
Wilmot show you that you were wrong this time.
I will invite you to free Venezuela and we will be able to do that.
Listen, I want to see it.
I just don't think the existing administration is as urgent as you are.
And my encouragement is for you to get out in front of everybody as soon as possible because you need to get these guys in DC to want to help you out.
I don't think they have the level of urgency that you need for it to get done the next 80 days.
I think it may happen with the next administration.
I don't think this administration has a level of urgency because they're trying to get re-elected.
They're not thinking about you right now.
They're trying to get re-elected.
Well, there are only a few days until the election and then immediately we have a window of opportunity.
Exactly.
I agree.
And I ask you to help us.
Well, we're going to make sure millions of people see this.
We're going to make sure millions of people see this.
Maria, thank you so much.
Good luck to you.
Take good care.
Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
Thank you.
Okay.
I got a big announcement to make.
And the good news is you're the first to know and you'll be the first to be invited.
So the property I'm on right now, we've been working on buying this property for the last three years.
It's one of its last kind in America.
Why?
It's on 11 acres.
It's got two hangars.
It's on an airport.
Upgrades of $7 million made here.
That's going to be the new headquarters of Valetamin, Manek, Bed David Consulting, the podcast, the whole nine.
And what we wanted to do, we want to find a way to celebrate this as a new headquarters with inviting you to an event on November 5th, which is election night.
A lot of different things people will be talking about, business owners.
What's going to happen if it goes this way?
What's going to happen if it goes that way?
So imagine 2,000 people being here.
Let me show you around.
Some of you will have a private meeting with me.
That's the elite.
That's going to be a few of you.
Some will get a private tour, the entire office from us.
There's a hangar in the back.
So you come up here.
Imagine there's going to be a couple major tents, 40 feet by 100 feet, where some of the people that are buying general tickets will be there.
But over here inside the hangar is where the podcast will be held.
This entire thing will be open like it is right now.
Inside of it, myself, the PBD podcast crew, some of the super VIPs will be invited to go upstairs in a section that we have that's got a bar, a restaurant, food, you know, kitchen.
You're eating, you're watching it from all the way up there while we're doing the podcast down here in the hangar.
So imagine in this room, there's a thousand people, right?
While we're going through this whole thing.
Conversation, it's going to be from 6 p.m. is when it starts.
All the way up to two o'clock in the morning.
Who knows?
Maybe we'll go three, four o'clock in the morning because a lot of things that's going to be going on.
And by the way, do you know why we're not cutting this?
We're on an airport.
These are planes.
We have to hear because right here is the airport and FYI, messy place right there at that stadium right behind us.
There's five tickets here that you can purchase.
Each one's got more things to offer.
But even locally, there's general tickets to buy for just $75.
Bring your wife, bring your husband, bring your family, bring your friends.
There's one caveat after you buy the ticket.
When you buy the ticket and you come on November 5th, you have to wear Future Looks Bright gear.
I'm talking Future Looks Bright hat, a shirt, doesn't matter.
You're going to have to show, I got some kind of Future Looks Bright gear because we want everybody here to spread the message and the energy of optimism around the world, back to their states, wherever you're going to be.
So November 5th, click on the link above or below, get registered.
And if you're watching and saying, well, Pat, I like to travel private.
Can I bring my private jet here?
Five of you guys will be after you buy your ticket.
Then you can ask us.
And that's only available to the tickets at the highest level possible to bring your jet and park it here.
So having said that, get your tickets.
And I cannot wait to see you November 5th, 6 p.m. at our new headquarters in Fort Lauderdale.
