Three things Venezuelan opposition leaders want you to know

President-elect Edmundo González, democratic opposition leader María Corina Machado join SNF Agora Institute event virtually from separate safe houses

• Image Will Kirk

In 2013, David Smolansky became the youngest mayor in Venezuela’s history when he was elected at the age of 28. He quickly earned attention for decreasing kidnapping rates in El Hatillo and making the city less corrupt and city government more transparent.

By 2017, though, Smolansky fled his home after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro issued a warrant for his arrest. After anti-Maduro protests broke out, the president declared opposition leaders, including Smolansky, as terrorists and issued warrants for their arrest.

“I was ready to get reelected,” Smolansky said at a recent Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg Center event. “But Maduro’s illegal arrest warrant forced me into a safe house for 35 days.”

Following his time in the safe house, the one-time mayor shaved his beard, dressed as a priest and took a three-day journey to Brazil, bypassing 35 security checkpoints on the trek. He then made it to Washington, D.C., and is now a dissident-in-residence at Johns Hopkins University’s SNF Agora Institute.

Venezuelan President-elect Edmundo González and democratic opposition leader María Corina Machado joined Smolansky virtually at the event from separate safe houses to share their insights.

Here are three things they want Americans to know:

1. Maduro’s government isn’t just corrupt—it’s dangerous

Machado, who went into hiding last year after leading protests against the regime, said that Maduro’s government is part of the region’s drug trafficking network. An estimated 300 metric tons of narcotics—worth roughly $6-8 billion in street value—travel through the country each year.

“In Mexico, the cartels fight against the government. In Venezuela, the cartel is the government,” she said. “They are the law.”

2. Venezuela’s instability affects the world

González, who has gone into exile after a disputed election against Maduro last year that he is widely viewed as having won, cautioned that corruption in Venezuela has a reach well beyond its borders.

“Venezuela is the weakest and most dangerous link in the security chain of the Western Hemisphere,” he said. “Venezuela has become a vast region with transnational and international terrorism operating with impunity. … The consequences are devastating, not only for Venezuela, for the entire hemisphere.”

3. The resistance movement is still strong

Even while speaking in exile, the dissidents stressed the opposition movement they represent remains committed to the cause.

Machado said the opposition has consistently pulled off feats—including defeating Maduro in a contentious election—deemed impossible and that she’s confident it will ultimately succeed.

“This is an existential fight, a spiritual fight for all, for us as well,” she said. “And we will never give up. We will win.”