OPINION:
For years, and especially in recent months, I have watched something deeply troubling unfold in the movement for Venezuela’s freedom.
Alongside the brave men and women who genuinely fight to end the socialist dictatorship, there has emerged a growing ecosystem of false opposition figures, fake activists, opportunistic lobbyists and self-proclaimed “conservatives” who have found a way to profit from Venezuela’s tragedy.
Let’s be honest about the reality.
The Chavez-Maduro regime has never lacked resources. Oil wealth, narco-trafficking networks, illegal mining operations, tax extortion — the regime controls a river of money. If it were not so corrupt and incompetent, then Venezuela could have rivaled Qatar many times over in prosperity.
That money was never meant to modernize the country or uplift its people.
It was used to build a repression machine.
Most Americans understandably picture repression as soldiers pointing rifles at students, intelligence officers torturing political prisoners or judges rubber-stamping political persecution. Yes, that is part of it.
Repression also includes something less visible: the lobbying networks, media operations, public relations firms and “policy influencers” who work to sanitize the regime’s image abroad and fracture the opposition from within.
Some of these actors are obvious: former opposition politicians who sold out and now sit comfortably inside regime-controlled institutions. Others operate in Washington.
From Day 1, certain groups have tried to persuade President Trump and key conservative policymakers that the leadership chosen by Venezuelans themselves is “inconvenient,” “too radical” or “not viable,” and that accommodation with elements of the dictatorship would somehow be more “pragmatic.”
That is not pragmatism; it’s surrender disguised as strategy.
The money behind these efforts is murky. Not every initiative aimed at weakening Venezuela’s democratic transition is openly coordinated, but the outcome is the same: Divide the opposition, fracture its leadership, and weaken the possibility of a real break from socialism.
The motives vary. For some, it is money. For others, political ambition. For others, ego. For a smaller but destructive group, resentment and envy.
The central target is always the same: Weaken the established opposition leadership now represented by Maria Corina Machado.
Let me be clear: No one is morally obligated to support any specific leader. Leadership in Venezuela is earned, not appointed.
However, if one’s true objective is to end the socialist dictatorship, then attempting to sabotage the opposition’s bridge to the White House or to American conservative allies is politically irrational.
A country that cannot consolidate around strong leadership during a liberation struggle becomes easy prey not only for its internal oppressors but also for foreign actors seeking leverage. Dividing leadership strengthens the regime. That is not theory; it is political reality.
There will be time in the future for ideological debates. There will be space to argue about economic models, party platforms, constitutional reforms and who should run for president, governor or Congress.
Those debates belong in a free Venezuela, in a real parliament elected by a free people.
First, we must have a country. Only then can we argue about how to govern it.
This moment demands discipline, not ego. National unity, not personal branding. Patriotism, not ambition.
Those who cannot understand this, who prioritize headlines, applause or proximity to power over liberation, are either profoundly naive or knowingly serving the interests of the regime. Experience suggests the latter is far more common than the former.
Today, Venezuela stands closer to freedom than at any other point in recent years. That is not accidental. It is the result of alignment between Venezuelan democratic forces and American leadership that understands the stakes: Socialism in our hemisphere is not merely a Venezuelan issue; it is also a strategic threat.
We will continue strengthening those alliances, aligning interests with the United States and building the necessary political bridges to make freedom inevitable.
When Venezuela is free — truly free — there will be pluralism. There will be ideological competition. There will be multiple parties and visions for the country.
First, we must win back liberty, and we will.
• Emmanuel Rincon is a Venezuelan lawyer, political consultant and writer.
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