Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado is planning an imminent return to her country, a move that would pose the biggest political challenge yet to acting President Delcy Rodríguez as she struggles to manage the country's deadliest natural disaster in decades.
Machado is in Panama City, where she remains after the Venezuelan government temporarily closed the country's airspace in an attempt to block her return, the Nobel Peace Prize winner said Monday in a video recording. She said the regime has threatened those who are trying to help her return.
“I will be in Venezuela to help coordinate and encourage citizen efforts in the emergency and the reconstruction,” she said. “I'm going to do what it takes to come together there.”
Machado is seeking to overcome divisions within the Trump administration over whether bringing her back during the earthquake emergency would risk provoking a political confrontation that could overshadow rescue efforts.
It also forces Rodríguez to embrace her chief political rival in a show of national unity or rebuff her entrance. Blocking Machado's return would risk accusations that Rodríguez is narrowing political space during a sensitive time after two consecutive earthquakes hit the country on June 24.
Venezuela's Information Ministry didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rodríguez declared a national emergency after the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes. The death toll has reached 1,719, with more than 22,000 injured, according to authorities. Thousands of rescue workers from the US, Europe and Latin America have rushed to help with medical aid, food and specialized equipment.
Machado tried earlier to reach Caracas via Curacao last week, with the help of private security contractors, Bloomberg reported earlier. She called off the plan after the US made clear she would be traveling at her own risk and without US support.
In her video message, Machado said she was “ready to do whatever needs to be done and talk to whoever it takes” to coordinate and serve the Venezuelan people, in what could signal openess talk to Rodríguez.
It was unclear how many Venezuelans would see Machado's message. There were reports Monday that the social-media service she used, X, was unavailable to some users. X had been blocked in the country for the past two years but had been available following the earthquake.
At least one Republican lawmaker pressed the Trump administration to facilitate Machado's return. “She is the legitimate leader of the opposition and doesn't need Delcy Rodríguez's permission to return to her country,” said María Elvira Salazar, the Florida congresswoman, in a post on X.
The government also suspended transportation for journalists from Caracas to the hard-hit state of La Guaira for 48 hours, though media outlets could still travel independently on Monday.
Approval Ratings
Rodríguez's approval has already come under pressure. Her disapproval rating climbed to 59% in May, up almost 12 percentage points from April, according to an AtlasIntel survey conducted for Bloomberg News. During a recent visit to an affected Caracas neighborhood, residents confronted her, accusing the government of abandoning victims and shouting, “Get out!”
For Rodríguez, however, there could be opportunity along with risk in a Machado return. Allowing her rival to operate freely and participate in relief efforts would represent the clearest sign yet of political opening under the US-backed transition and reinforce the administration's message of national reconciliation after US forces captured Maduro.
Following Maduro's ouster in early January, Rodríguez had warned that Machado would have to “answer for her actions before the Venezuelan people,” referring to her support for sanctions and calls for international intervention.
The earthquakes have already prompted Rodríguez to pursue an unusually pragmatic foreign policy. Her administration has welcomed humanitarian assistance from the US as well as governments once considered political adversaries, including El Salvador, Chile, Ecuador, Israel, Paraguay and Italy.
That openness has not extended domestically yet. Opposition leaders have accused authorities of obstructing relief efforts by stopping aid trucks and harassing volunteers. The government has also sought to centralize assistance, and have further restricted access to La Guaira, saying the measure is necessary to protect rescue operations and implement public health controls.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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