WASHINGTON — Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has pressed U.S. officials in recent days to help her return home after deadly earthquakes devastated parts of Venezuela, a White House official said on June 27, expressing frustration at the timing of her requests.
Machado, who left Venezuela in December 2025 to accept the Nobel Peace Prize and has been based mainly in the United States since, contacted contacts across the U.S. government, including the White House, the State Department and members of Congress, seeking assistance to facilitate her travel back to Venezuela, the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. The twin quakes this week have killed more than 900 people.
“We support her returning to Venezuela, but does it have to be 24 hours after a massive humanitarian catastrophe where the death toll continues to climb?” the White House source said, indicating concern that an immediate return could complicate relief operations.
Machado, 58, left the country despite a decade-long travel ban and has positioned herself as a leading critic of Nicolás Maduro after contested 2024 elections. Some opposition figures had hoped she would take a central role following the U.S. capture of former president Maduro in January, though President Donald Trump later endorsed Delcy Rodríguez, saying Machado lacked the short-term support needed to lead.
Before the earthquakes, Machado had said she expected to return to Venezuela by year’s end and has long campaigned for free and fair elections. Her office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
U.S. agencies have been active in relief efforts: the State Department has mobilized search-and-rescue teams, coordinated medical-supply deliveries and released US$150 million in humanitarian aid to assist Venezuela’s recovery.