Venezuela’s leading opposition figure, Maria Corina Machado, has pledged to return to the country soon and push for a free election, declaring her movement ready to win decisively after the U.S. operation that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro.

Speaking in her first interview since Maduro was seized by U.S. commandos in Caracas, Machado praised U.S. President Donald Trump for what she called the defeat of a “narco-terrorist regime.” She said the opposition was prepared to move forward with a democratic transition and claimed it could secure more than 90% of the vote in free and fair elections.

Machado, who fled Venezuela in disguise in October to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, said she plans to return as soon as possible. However, her plans face uncertainty as loyalists of Maduro’s Socialist Party remain in control of key institutions, and she is under investigation for allegedly inciting insurrection within the military.

Trump, meanwhile, has signaled caution about holding an immediate election, saying the country must first be stabilized. His administration has indicated it may work with interim President Delcy Rodriguez and other senior figures from Maduro’s government, a stance that has disappointed the opposition and unsettled many Venezuelans.

Maduro, now held in New York, pleaded not guilty to narcotics charges on Monday, insisting he remains Venezuela’s president