Maria Corina Machado on Venezuela’s future and why she gave her Nobel Peace Prize to President Trump

WASHINGTON (CBS, KYMA) - Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado spoke with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation Sunday on the latest on Venezuela.

According to Brennan, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. doesn't intend "to have any military action or presence inside Venezuela, except for maybe at a reopened embassy there."

This prompted her to ask Machado if it was a good idea to take the military pressure off when the Maduro regime is still in place, to which Machado said:

"First of all, I have to say that on behalf of the Venezuelan people, we're very, very grateful to the American people, and the first hand- first and foremost, to President Trump, to the secretary of state, and also to your leaders in Congress. I mean, the degree of support and care that we've felt in this fight at this moment is enormous, and I think it is clear on the behalf and well being of the American people, but also of the Venezuelan people, and I would say the whole hemisphere. I do not think that the pressure is being taken away. Actually, everything Delcy Rodríguez is currently doing is because she's complying with instructions she's getting from the United States, and important steps are being taken. So I think that the message has been delivered, and so far, we're seeing the results in the actions taken by the regime, and also in the mood and energy that is growing within the Venezuelan population."

When asked if she or anyone in her movement is in touch with Interim President Delcy Rodriguez, Machado said, "No, not really" before answering why not:

"We had offered, since we won the election by a landslide, that we were willing to- to agree in the terms of a negotiated transition, they refused. On the contrary, they decided to unleash the most cruel, brutal repression wave...as you know, there have been thousands of political prisoners, and they had not demonstrated any willingness to stop this cruelty, until January 3rd arrived and happened when it happened. So it sent a clear message to them, and they're starting to realize that things have changed for good. So eventually they might understand or...and even very soon, that it is in their best interest to accept that transition is unstoppable."

During the interview, Brennan asked Machado if she returns to Venezuela, would she be imprisoned, and if the American government said they will protect her, and Machado said:

"Things are changing very fast in Venezuela. If they had captured me before I left, I probably would have been disappeared or worse. Right now, I don't think they would dare to kill me because of the United States presence and pressure and actions. I don't know how much possibility of moving I would have inside Venezuela, certainly they would be very afraid, because the regime knows the connection, the intimate connection we have, you know, the Venezuelan people and the leadership that won the election, the legitimate government."

Brennan then asked Machado if she would run for president of Venezuela, and she said:

"I will be president when the time comes. But it doesn't matter. That should be decided in elections by the Venezuelan people. I wasn't allowed to run in the last election, as we mentioned before, because Maduro was afraid to running against me, and he thought Edmundo [Gonzalez] was not a threat, because nobody knew who he was. And in less than three months, we managed to put the whole country supporting him, because this is matter of freedom. I mean, this is a spiritual fight, an existential fight for Venezuela. Unlike other diasporas, and I want to stress this, our people around the world, here in the United States, want to go back. Go back and live in a country where they're safe, but most of all, where there is a future in freedom and democracy. So if we want those hundreds of thousands and millions of Venezuelan to go back, we need to have a secure and precise timeline through which this transition will advance."

Later in the interview, Brennan asked Machado why she gave her Nobel Peace Prize to President Donald Trump after she already dedicated it to him, and Machado said:

"I think this is a matter of justice, and it's a matter of what's in the superior interest of our country. We the Venezuelan people, are truly grateful for what he has done, and we're confident in what he will do in the days, weeks and months to come."

To watch Brennan's full interview with Machado, click here.