By SIMON ROMERO
As the Trump administration weighs using force to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, former diplomats and even some prominent critics of Maduro worry that his political opponents in Venezuela are promoting exaggerated claims and falsehoods to justify a U.S. intervention.
Maria Corina Machado, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October and is considered the opposition’s de facto leader, has recently amplified debunked claims that Maduro fixed elections in the United States, aligning herself closely with President Donald Trump and his allies.
“I have no doubt that Nicolás Maduro, Jorge Rodríguez and many others are the masterminds of a system that has rigged elections in many countries, including the U.S.,” Machado told Bloomberg News, referring to Venezuela’s president and the head of its National Assembly.
Trump followed over the weekend by amplifying unproven assertions that Venezuela interfered in the 2020 election.
Machado and other opposition leaders have also argued that Maduro simultaneously heads two different drug-trafficking organizations threatening U.S. national security. The Trump administration has similarly sought to link Maduro to both groups.
The Trump administration has designated those groups, Tren de Aragua and the Cartel de los Soles, as terrorist organizations. Trump officials have also claimed that the United States was in a state of armed conflict with “narco-terrorist” drug cartels to legitimize strikes on 21...
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