The following is the transcript of the interview with Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, Republican of Florida, that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Jan. 11, 2026.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to Florida Republican congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar, who joins us this morning from Miami. Congresswoman, welcome to Face the Nation.
REP. MARÍA ELVIRA SALAZAR: Thank you for the opportunity.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You are one of Maria Corina Machado's top allies in Congress. You've said she is coming to Washington this week. President Trump said maybe Tuesday, maybe Wednesday. Details still being worked out. Why is it important for her to get in front of the President of the United States, who is backing Maduro's number two as the current president of that country?
REP. SALAZAR: Okay, well, I don't think that the President is really backing anyone that is related to the Maduro regime. But concentrating on Maria Corina Machado, she earned it. She was the one who put together this- she proved to the international community that they, the opposition forces, had won the election. She was able to somehow create the tallies and prove to the Trump administration that they had won by 70 to 30. Remember that Maduro did not give her the opportunity to be the Presidential nominee because he did not like her, because he knew that he was going to lose against her. So she has earned it, and I am sure that she will have a very good, long, solid conversation with the President. She knows the story better than anybody. I was in touch with her during the 16 months that she was hiding in a tunnel because the Maduro forces were looking for her to kill her. So, she's earned it. So, I think we are going to welcome her in Congress, and I'm sure that President Trump is going to be highly, highly pleased with that meeting.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You heard the Energy Secretary here say it could be- it could be years before we get to a transition. The President did say democracy is something he hopes for in Venezuela. Does that mean that she should go back, that the United States should guarantee Maria Corina Machado's security to return? I mean, how can the opposition go back for an election right now?
REP. SALAZAR: Well, you know, she was planning to go when we met in Oslo, when she received the Nobel Peace Prize, she was saying to everybody that she was ready to go back, when on January 3, we took Maduro out. They- I love what Secretary Rubio is expressing and the plan that we have as the country of stabilize, recover, and transition. I think that if you think about it, the Trump administration is creating a blueprint, a new ground breaking, new model for foreign policy, when he- vis-a-vis the western hemisphere. So Maria Corina and the opposition forces fall in that three-planned layout that we have, that Rubio has created and Trump has blessed. So she is part of the transition, and I am sure that they will be able to reorganize themselves. She has hundreds of thousands of people in Caracas and in Venezuela that will help us to put together this electoral system.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, I know that you support the Trump administration's policy, but Secretary of State Rubio really, really bristled when I asked him why they didn't arrest the Minister of the Interior, Diosdado Cabello, who remains in power. You have been very, very clear in your statements that you think the United States should arrest him. We went back and looked, CBS Miami's Jim DeFede reported in 2017 that Caballo had tried to assassinate Senator Rubio. Can you help people understand why perhaps people in Florida should be concerned or other Americans about this man remaining in control of security forces?
REP. SALAZAR: Well, you know, I know that just Diosdado is probably worse than Maduro and worse than Delcy. They're all Alibaba and the 40 Thieves. Let's- don't make any- let's make sure, for your international audience, that- but- but I am very reassured the fact that we have taken the oil and the resources away from them. That Diosdado Cabello, who is a thief, I repeat, does not want to fall into where Maduro has fallen into, and they will cooperate. And somehow, because we have created this new type of model, that they will work with us, they do not have their resources now they know that we're going to go into this recovery, and that- and that somehow they are going to definitely participate and work with the American forces. They know better. And like I said, this is impressive what's happening, because we have not seen this before in 250 years of history. And Diosdado, I repeat, is definitely someone who was indicted. And one of the source- I have some sources that say that, that we were not able to locate him, but it did- at this hour, I would say that, that everything is really falling into place.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, he controls the prisons, and there are at least five Americans in those prisons--
REP. SALAZAR: -- With Delcy. With Delcy. Delcy is the one who is really in charge of the secret police and the repressive apparatus. And Diosdado Cabello was in charge of the military, who was part of the Sun's cartel along with Maduro.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But do you know why the Trump administration isn't publicly demanding the release of the Americans that are being held?
REP. SALAZAR: Listen, maybe- maybe we do not know some things that are happening, and Rubio said it the other day. I do understand, and I am sure, Rubio knows the area very well, and he knows who the characters are. And we are definitely taking this with- with solid in- a solid- with solid steps. We do not want to make any mistakes and- and I am sure that the political prisoners will be coming out and that we- that we're not giving them, meaning Diosdado and Delcy, any type of- of leeway for them to really run the country. We will see. Like it happened- it happened two, three weeks ago. Let's give them a little bit more time before we see more results.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Very quickly, the President tweeted today, Cuba gets no more money, no more oil. The CIA assessment is that that regime in Havana is not necessarily in peril, even though the President's saying they are. What are you hearing?
REP. SALAZAR: Well, look, I represent the city of Miami, you know, the heart of the Cuban exile community. And those words are like, magical. It's been 65 years. You know, Cuba is- is really a center of power for our enemies, Iran, Russia, China. And- and now I think they are- they are getting the memo. And Cuba, it's- it's hanging by your threat, by a thread I should say. The threat that Cuba has represented to the United States has been immense. They have no water, they have no electricity, they have no food. They have nothing. So if you think that Maduro was weak. Cuba is even weaker, and now they do not have one drop of oil coming from Venezuela. So that could be the beginning of the end.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, Mexico is stepping up and providing them some. We're going to have to watch--
REP. SALAZAR: -- And that is a very big mistake. A very big mistake from Madame Sheibaum--
MARGARET BRENNAN: -- what happens next. All right. Thank you very much, Congresswoman. We'll be back in a moment.
