When U.S. forces swooped into Venezuela over the weekend, they didn't just capture a dictator. They also inadvertently shined a spotlight on what might be one of the boldest economic turnaround plans you've never heard of.

The $1.7 Trillion Question

Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado has been working on something ambitious: a comprehensive blueprint to privatize Venezuela's crumbling state-run economy and resurrect what was once Latin America's richest country. The price tag? About $1.7 trillion.

Speaking virtually at the Fortune Global Forum in Riyadh back in October 2025, Machado didn't mince words about what decades of socialist policies had done to her country. Venezuela went from regional powerhouse to economic disaster zone, she explained, describing it as "a country that used to be the richest... that has turned into one of the poorest."

The numbers tell a brutal story. "Our economy has collapsed. It's been over 80% down in the last [several] years," Machado said. "Our people have been forced to flee just to survive."

Her solution? Privatize more than 500 state-controlled enterprises, using Venezuela's existing infrastructure as the foundation for what she believes could be rapid recovery. She's promising transparency, rule of law, and fiscal incentives designed to attract global investment back to a country that investors have avoided for years.

"Venezuela will be the single biggest economic opportunity for decades to come," she told Fortune, pointing to the country's vast oil and gas reserves and the potential return of its diaspora.

Machado has been campaigning from hiding, calling Nicolás Maduro a "narco-terrorist stater" and accusing his regime of corruption, gold smuggling, and human rights abuses. His government was entrenched but increasingly weakened by international pressure.

Trump Makes His Move

That changed dramatically on Saturday when President Donald Trump announced that Maduro and his wife had been captured and removed from the country following what he called a "large-scale strike."

Venezuela's government condemned the operation as "grave military aggression." Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López called it the worst attack in the nation's history, and authorities declared a state of emergency across the country.

But former U.S. envoy Richard Haass isn't buying the humanitarian angle. He suggested Trump's decision to remove Maduro was driven more by Venezuela's enormous oil reserves than concerns about justice or democracy. During a Mar-a-Lago press conference, Trump repeatedly mentioned Venezuela's oil wealth and spoke about American companies investing billions to rebuild the country's deteriorated oil infrastructure.

The aftermath has been chaotic. Maduro's armed supporters took to the streets, prompting most residents to stay indoors. Airstrikes hit Caracas and other areas, disrupting public services. The supermarkets that remained open saw long queues as people worried about renewed shortages.

Now, with Maduro out of the picture and Venezuela in turmoil, Machado's privatization plan suddenly looks less theoretical and more like a potential roadmap. Whether it actually happens depends on what comes next, but the conversation has definitely shifted.