Trump's support for Venezuela opposition head Machado wanes
Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace laureate María Corina Machado says she wants to return to her earthquake-ravaged homeland. Yet neither Venezuela's government nor the
Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace laureate María Corina Machado says she wants to return to her earthquake-ravaged homeland. Yet neither Venezuela's government nor the United States thinks that's a good idea. The opposition politician Maria Corina Machado has been planning her return from the United States to Venezuela for months. When the devastating double earthquake hit the coastal region of La Guaira in June, she believed that the time was right. In a video message, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner accused Venezuela's interim government, led by Delcy Rodríguez, of actively obstructing disaster relief. This accusation is also voiced by earthquake victims and some aid organizations. Machado recorded the video in Panama City. From there, she planned to fly to Venezuela. Sources close to her allege that Venezuela's government threatened the airline with a landing ban if Machado were on board. Neither Copa Airlines nor Venezuela's government has confirmed the claim, nor have they denied it. In the video, Machado does not mention an incident that The Wall Street Journal reported in early July. According to the article, in June Machado attempted to fly from the United States to the Dutch-held Caribbean island of Curacao by private jet and then to travel to Venezuela by boat. In December, she had secretly left traveled the same route in the opposite direction to fly to Oslo for the Nobel Prize ceremony. Citing high-level sources, The Wall Street Journal reports that the private jet provided for Machado was over the state of North Carolina when it was ordered back by the US government. The State Department justified demanding that the plane turn back over concerns that political disputes could further complicate relief efforts following the earthquakes. The conservative Machado was long considered the most important ally within the Venezuelan opposition for US President Donald Trump.
A New York Times headline on the rift between Machado and the Trump administration said: "US Undercuts Venezuela's Opposition Leader as She Tries to Return." Machado seizes moment Phil Gunson, of the International Crisis Group in Venezuela, told DW that it is clear that the US government does not view Machado as a transitional politician. And he sees at least one good reason for this: "She was really essential to the opposition victory in 2024. But she's not a negotiator. She has a lot of problems even reaching agreements with people on her own side." Venezuela's electoral commission declared the incumbent president, Nicolas Maduro, the winner of the 2024 vote, though the result was protested within the country and abroad. International observers said opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez had clearly won the election. Machado had actively — and, according to many analysts, decisively — supported him during the campaign, since she herself had been barred from running based on a court ruling. On January 3, 2026, US troops abducted Maduro and brought him to the United States. Since then, Delcy Rodriguez has been Venezuela's acting president. There had never been any doubt about Machado's own presidential ambitions. Yet, the longer she remains abroad, the more she must fear that her popularity could erode within Venezuela. The earthquake disaster seemed to be the right moment for her to pursue her return to Venezuela, so much so that she was apparently willing to risk a break with her backers in the US government. "They've told her again and again, 'This is not your time'," Gunson said. "But she has refused basically to take the hint. And she continues to proceed with her own plan. She is very anxious to come back." Venezuelans want elections — but when will they get them?
The BriefWire