{"id":14463,"date":"2026-07-06T19:40:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T00:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/?p=14463"},"modified":"2026-07-06T19:59:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T00:59:59","slug":"venezuela-will-rise-stronger-than-ever-maria-machado-from-panama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/news\/venezuela-will-rise-stronger-than-ever-maria-machado-from-panama\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Venezuela will rise stronger than ever’ – Mar\u00eda Machado from Panama"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the hushed solemnity of Panama City’s historic Casco Antiguo district, a different kind of tremor shook the congregation. Venezuelan opposition leader<\/strong> Maria Corina Machado<\/a> stood before the altar of the Panama Cathedral Santa Maria la Antigua<\/a>, her voice cracking with emotion. She had come to pray for the dead, but she left with a promise that echoed through the marble columns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Venezuela will rise with more force than ever,” she declared, her words a mixture of grief and defiance. [Translated from Spanish]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Sunday mass was a memorial for the victims of the devastating June 24 earthquakes that shattered Venezuela’s northern coast. But for Machado, it became something far more political. She described the gathering as a meeting point for the diaspora, a place where exiled citizens could share their anguish and their hope. The crowd, a mix of Venezuelan refugees and Panamanian supporters, hung on every syllable. Machado’s message was clear: the disaster had not broken the opposition’s spirit, it had forged it into something stronger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"MCM
Mar\u00eda Corina Machado and Lilian Tintori at an opposition gathering By Daga95 – https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/dagastream\/13438387355\/, CC BY 2.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=31911109<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A State Unable to Respond<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Machado did not mince words when describing the Venezuelan government’s response to the catastrophe. She labeled the situation a textbook case of a Venezuela failed state<\/a>, arguing that the administration of interim President Delcy Rodr\u00edguez had demonstrated a complete inability to manage the crisis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“This tragedy showed what we all knew,” Machado told foreign correspondents during a virtual briefing. “Venezuela became a failed state with an absolute, total absence of damage management capabilities.” [Translated from Spanish]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The numbers paint a grim picture. Official reports from the double earthquake, registering magnitudes of 7.5 and 7.2, list nearly 3,000 dead and more than 12,400 injured. The worst-hit areas include the northern coastal zone, the state of La Guaira, and the metropolitan area of Caracas. Machado argued that her presence in the country would provide stability and organizational force that the current authorities cannot offer. She insisted that her return is “non-negotiable” and that she plans to join citizen assistance committees operating in the streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Battle for Information<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the physical destruction, Machado highlighted a second disaster unfolding in real time. She accused the government of imposing severe restrictions on independent media and local news channels operating in the disaster zones.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Blocking information and manipulating it in these situations produces even more victims,” she stated bluntly. [Translated from Spanish]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

According to her analysis, the communications blackout is a deliberate strategy from Miraflores Palace. The goal, she claimed, is to “bury the truth while Venezuelans want to bury their dead with dignity.” This censorship, she argued, makes an already catastrophic humanitarian situation far worse. Families cannot locate loved ones. Rescue coordinators cannot share critical data. The information vacuum, she said, is as deadly as the aftershocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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