Exiled Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said Monday that Venezuela’s government blocked her from returning to the country to help with earthquake relief, as the Trump administration urged her to delay her trip. Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for advocating democracy, said in a video posted to social media from Panama that the government closed the country’s airspace to prevent her from boarding a commercial flight to Caracas.
“The regime closed our country’s airspace to try to stop me,” Machado said. She called her return “impossible to postpone” after the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela on Wednesday killed more than 1,500 people and left tens of thousands missing.
Machado’s attempt to return tested a new arrangement between Washington and Caracas in which the Trump administration has given priority to stability, access to Venezuelan oil, and security cooperation over a democratic transition. U.S. officials have backed acting President Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice president, since the U.S. military operation that captured Maduro in January.
On Friday, Machado took off from Virginia in a private plane bound for Curaçao, an autonomous Dutch island 40 miles from Venezuela, on a flight authorized by U.S. authorities, according to people familiar with the trip. She and aides had reached North Carolina when U.S. officials asked her to turn around, and she did, the people said. The White House referred requests for comment to the State Department.
On Sunday, Machado flew commercially to Panama City, where she was stopped from boarding a flight to Caracas. Representatives for Copa Airlines told her they feared that allowing her to return would lead the Venezuelan government to end the carrier’s flights to the country, according to people familiar with the trip. Copa could not be reached for comment.
Venezuela’s government has not issued Machado a passport, and a trade group representing private pilots said government red tape was preventing flights into Venezuela, making it harder to bring in humanitarian aid and people seeking to enter the country.
State Department spokeswoman Natalia Molano said Monday that “Venezuela remains a sovereign country with interim authorities and they’re the ultimate authority over their territory.”
Senior officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have previously urged Machado to be patient to preserve what they described as a fragile working relationship with Rodríguez necessary to stabilize the country and help put it on the road to economic recovery, according to people familiar with the discussions. In a statement, a State Department spokesperson said the administration is “solely focused on continuing to advance our efforts in response to the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela.”
President Trump has praised Rodríguez for her cooperation, saying last week that “the people running it, they are our people” about Venezuela. Since January, Venezuelan authorities have aligned themselves with U.S. priorities, opening the country’s oil reserves to foreign investors and cooperating with Washington on migration and security operations.
Trump administration officials have privately expressed frustration with Machado’s speeches and television appearances in which she has criticized Rodríguez and called for a speedy democratic transition, saying she was not doing herself favors in Trump’s eyes, according to people familiar with the matter. The administration has not set a timetable for elections in Venezuela.
MSI previously reported that the Trump administration declined to back Venezuela’s recognized opposition leadership after capturing Maduro, leaving Machado’s party sidelined. Read the full article.
In her video Monday, Machado said, “At this hour, I am willing to do whatever must be done, to speak with whoever must be spoken to.” She accused the government of blocking humanitarian aid and suppressing information after the disaster. “I am ready and close to Venezuela,” she said. “And I will do whatever it takes for us to meet there.”