Venezuela’s Machado says she will return to Venezuela to help quake victims

June 29 (Reuters) – Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Monday that she is “willing to do whatever it takes” to enter Venezuela to help with the country’s recovery efforts following last week’s back-to-back earthquakes. 

Machado, currently in Panama, accused the Venezuelan government of blocking her attempt to return to the country, and in a video posted on X said she “will be in Venezuela to help coordinate and encourage citizens’ efforts during the emergency.” 

She did not provide further details about her plan to enter Venezuela.

Machado had been living in hiding in Venezuela since claiming victory in the country’s disputed 2024 election. In December, she secretly fled Venezuela by boat to travel to Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, which she later handed to U.S. President Donald Trump.

Machado’s desire to return to Venezuela has caused friction in Washington, where she has been asked to delay her return.

The opposition leader has contacted several U.S. administration officials, including at the White House, the State Department, and Congress members, to seek support for her possible return to Venezuela, a White House official told Reuters on Saturday.

The capture of former President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces in January had raised expectations among some opposition figures that Machado, 58, would take a leading role in governing Venezuela.

However, Trump threw his support behind Maduro’s former deputy, Delcy Rodriguez, saying Machado lacked the backing needed to lead the country in the near term.

Machado had said prior to the earthquakes that she expected to return to Venezuela before the end of the year.

“At this moment, I am willing to do whatever it takes, speak to whoever I need to speak to, in order to coordinate and serve our people,” Machado said on Monday.

(Reporting by Andre Romani and Iñigo Alexander; Editing by Kylie Madry and Daina Beth Solomon)