CARACAS (Dispatches) -- 
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, has announced plans to move Venezuela’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Occupied Al-Quds if elected president.
In an interview with an Israeli channel, Machado stated, “I believe and I can announce that our government will move our Israeli embassy to Jerusalem,” adding that Venezuela would seek a close relationship with Israel as part of its support for the Zionist entity. 
Machado’s stance marks a sharp reversal from Venezuela’s previous position under former President Hugo Chavez, who in 2009 severed diplomatic ties with Israel and expelled its ambassador in protest of the 2008-2009 Gaza War. 
In recent months, Machado has also been a vocal supporter of U.S. military actions in the Caribbean, echoing President Donald Trump’s view that Venezuela’s current leader, Nicolas Maduro, represents a regional security threat.
“This is about saving lives,” Machado told Fox News last month, referring to U.S. strikes in the Caribbean. She accused Maduro of leading a “narco-terrorist structure of cooperation” that endangers not only Venezuelan citizens but also Americans.
However, Machado’s Nobel Prize win has sparked significant controversy and criticism. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned the decision, accusing her of supporting “Zionism and fascism” due to her ties with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party and her participation in far-right events in Europe. 
CAIR highlighted Machado’s 2020 alliance with Likud and her speech at a conference alongside European far-right figures such as Geert Wilders, Marine Le Pen, and Hungary’s Viktor Orban, who have openly promoted anti-Muslim rhetoric and called for a “new Reconquista” — referencing the historical expulsion of Muslims and Jews from Spain in the 1500s.
CAIR urged Machado to renounce her affiliations with these groups and called on the Nobel Committee to reconsider its decision, warning that honoring someone with such views undermines the Prize’s reputation. 
“An anti-Muslim bigot and supporter of European fascism would have no place alongside past laureates like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” the organization said.
In her Nobel acceptance speech, Machado dedicated the award to Trump, praising the former U.S. president for his “decisive support” of her cause. Trump has previously deployed warships near Venezuela targeting the country’s vessels, actions that Machado supports as part of efforts to confront Maduro’s government.