Analysis
In a Washington Post interview published in 2016, opposition leader María Corina Machado is quoted saying that talks with the Maduro government "only serve to give the dictatorship time and consolidate its power" and that "there will be no solution while Maduro stays in power." The wording in the statement matches the reported quotation, confirming its accuracy. No evidence contradicts this attribution.
Background
María Corina Machado, a prominent Venezuelan opposition figure, has long been critical of the Maduro administration's willingness to negotiate, arguing that such negotiations are a tactic to prolong the regime's rule. In 2016, amidst stalled talks between the opposition and the government, she publicly expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of dialogue without a change in leadership.
Verdict summary
María Corina Machado did state that dialogue with the Maduro regime only gives the government time to consolidate power and that no solution is possible while Maduro remains in power.