Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said democratic governments must raise the cost for Iran’s rulers to stay in power in an interview with Iranian activist Masih Alinejad.
Machado said Iran and Venezuela were bound by deep cooperation between their rulers, even as people in both countries rise up against repression.
“The Iranian people, the Venezuelan people, we are fighting the same struggle,” she said. “These regimes have been cooperating for many years, exchanging resources, information, technology, agents and weapons.”
She said authoritarian governments help each other bypass pressure and maintain control, while democracies often stop at statements.
“Dictators help each other, they exchange technology, resources, they help each other bypass sanctions and they support each other in international forums,” Machado said. “Democratic governments stay at statements and declarations that at the end do not serve the people.”
Machado said people in Iran had reached a breaking point and were calling on the world to respond.
“We reach a point where the people start asking the world to react and to support,” she said. “What we are asking for is to stop the killings and to save lives.”
She criticized what she described as double standards among democratic governments that condemn repression while maintaining economic ties.
“You sign declarations talking about freedom and equality and respect for human rights, then you do business with these regimes,” Machado said. “You buy oil from these regimes and you keep their assets and resources in your own financial systems.”
Praise for Trump action
Machado praised Donald Trump for taking decisive action against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and said it showed what firm leadership could achieve.
“Finally in Venezuela we’re seeing President Trump making a tremendous important decision,” she said. “Bringing a criminal to justice is precisely what the world needs.”
She said the move sent a signal beyond Venezuela.
“It has brought a lot of hope,” Machado said. “This is a milestone.”
Machado said repression continues when dictators see little cost in using force.
“When you’re dealing with criminals, the only way they will leave is when the cost of staying in power is higher than the cost of leaving,” she said.
She said opposition movements cannot succeed alone without coordinated international pressure.
“We have done everything that any civic movement can do and they are killing us,” Machado said. “What we are asking for is applying law enforcement and cutting the resources they use to fund repression.”
Machado said the fall of Iran’s ruling system would have consequences far beyond the country.
“Imagine how the world will look once the Iranian criminal regime falls,” she said. “This is a unique moment in history.”
She said cooperation among opposition groups and diasporas was essential.
“These regimes help each other, and we the people need to connect and coordinate,” Machado said. “Regardless of how far away we are, we are united in this aspiration.”
