The Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, denied this Wednesday that Washington is hindering the return of the opposition leader María Corina Machado to Venezuela.
During a joint press conference with his Greek counterpart, George Gerapetritis, Rubio was asked whether the State Department “will continue to ask foreign governments not to facilitate the return of María Corina Machado to Venezuela.”
When asked, the US official responded bluntly: “I don’t know what they’re talking about. Honestly, I don’t know. Just because you guys post something doesn’t mean it’s true.».
Rubio added that his department has “never” asked “anyone” to “not let anyone in anywhere in the world.”
The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner reiterated this Tuesday that she will return to Venezuela to “contribute to facilitating” the transition, after her team recently denounced at least seven failed attempts due to “impediments” to her return.
“I will return to my country to be with the Venezuelans at this stage, strengthen the organization of the people and contribute to facilitating the transition. We have a task ahead of us: to build a free and democratic Venezuela, which is the most reliable ally of the United States in our hemisphere,” Machado said in a message on X when responding to a message from US Congressman Carlos Giménez.
In the publication, Machado thanks Giménez for his friendship and support “for so many years” to the cause for the “freedom of Venezuela.”
The opposition’s team reported on September 22 that the leader has tried to return to Venezuela by air and sea on at least seven occasions, the last three from Panama, but that the Venezuelan authorities have prevented her from doing so.
On Monday, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, assured that “everything will be fine” when asked if he supports the Venezuelan opposition leader returning to her country, after Machado published an opinion article in the New York Post titled: ‘Why I should return to Venezuela and the people should vote.’
