Exiled Nobel laureate María Corina Machado says 'the time has come' to return to Venezuela, but Trump aides call it a political maneuver
Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel laureate María Corina Machado announced she will return 'very soon' after last week's deadly quakes. Two US officials told the New York Times her repeated requests for help were 'inopportune' and one called them a political maneuver.
The call to return
María Corina Machado, the exiled Venezuelan opposition leader, told Fox News on Sunday that "the time has come" to go back to Venezuela. Speaking after the twin earthquakes that struck the country on 24 June, she said her priority was to save lives and comfort those affected.
It is my duty to accompany my people, we need to be together to embrace, to cry, to mourn together, but also to give each other strength in this very difficult moment.
She added that she would be back on Venezuelan soil "very soon."
Earthquake devastation
The earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale, have killed 1,450 people, injured 3,150, and affected 12,721 families, according to the latest official tally. The US has pledged a leadership role in the response, dispatching rescue teams from across the country and deploying a Navy vessel to provide medical assistance.
- Two earthquakes (magnitude 7.2 and 7.5) strike Venezuela, killing 1,450 and injuring 3,150.
- Machado posts a message on X calling for strength and unity.
- Machado tells Fox News 'the time has come' to return and that she will be back 'very soon.'
- Two US officials describe her requests for Washington's help as inopportune; one calls them a political maneuver.
White House frustration
Machado's desire to return has been met with pushback in Washington. Two unnamed White House officials told the New York Times that her repeated requests for logistical help were inopportune, with one describing them as a "political maneuver." US authorities have prioritized working with interim President Delcy Rodríguez, who heads the provisional government after the capture of former leader Nicolás Maduro by American forces in January.
Exile and a Nobel gift
Machado left Venezuela in December 2025 in a risky operation to collect the Nobel Peace Prize, which she later donated to President Donald Trump. Since then she has remained abroad at the urging of Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who warned against an immediate return. In a March White House meeting, US leaders expressed concern for her safety, emphasizing their focus on the interim government led by Rodríguez.
Machado had already posted a message of strength and unity on X in the hours after the earthquakes struck.
