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Cato Podcast • January 29, 2026 

# Why Propping Up Maduro’s Allies Won’t Save Venezuela 

After more than two decades of socialist rule, Venezuela faces a rare opportunity for democratic transition following Maduro’s removal. Ian Vásquez and Marcos Falcone trace the regime’s record of repression and economic collapse, explain why regime insiders cannot credibly deliver reform, and make the case for immediate engagement with María Corina Machado and the opposition that overwhelmingly won the 2024 election.

[![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) 
This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). 

##### Featuring 

[![Ian Vásquez](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-01/Ian%20Vasquez.jpg?itok=yBS_mzpm)](/people/ian-vasquez) 

##### [Ian Vásquez](/people/ian-vasquez)

Vice President for International Studies, Cato Institute

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](https://x.com/vasquezian) [ 

](mailto:ivasquez@cato.org) 

[![Marcos Falcone cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2025-09/MFalcone-cropped.jpg?itok=Tbl4mTMu)](/people/marcos-falcone) 

##### [Marcos Falcone](/people/marcos-falcone)

Policy Analyst, Center for Global Liberal and Prosperity, Cato Institute