Rubio denies US is blocking Machado’s return to Venezuela

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday rejected reports that Washington had asked foreign governments to keep Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado from going home. "The premise of your question is not true. We've never asked anyone not to let anybody else in anywhere in the world," he said at a news conference in Athens with Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis.aa

The denial comes as Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, says she will return to help with Venezuela's political transition. Her team says she has tried and failed to get back at least seven times.elnacional

A sharp exchange with reporters

A reporter asked whether the State Department would keep "telling foreign governments not to facilitate" Machado's return, and pointed to a report in The Wall Street Journal News Corp ↘ 0.54%. Rubio answered: "Who told you we said that?" He added, "Oh, it's in the paper, so it's true? I can show you a bunch of articles that aren't true," and said that "just because you report something doesn't mean it's true". He also said he did not know how to answer "a question based on something that is false".el-carabobeno+1

According to coverage of the Journal's report, one of Machado's attempts took place in June and included a planned stop in Curaçao. Her private jet reportedly turned back while it was still in U.S. airspace after Dutch authorities withdrew permission to land, following signals from Washington. Rubio was in Greece for the sixth U.S.-Greece Strategic Dialogue.diarioversionfinal+1

Repeated failed attempts

On Sept. 22, Machado's team said she had tried to return by air and by sea at least seven times, and that the last three attempts were from Panama. Those three attempts happened on Sept. 21, while Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, was in the United States for the U.N. General Assembly and a meeting with President Donald Trump. Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello called the complaints a "show" and challenged her: "Let her come".deia+1

On Tuesday, Machado repeated in a post on X that she would come back "to contribute to facilitating the transition". On Monday, asked whether he supports her return, Trump said "everything will turn out fine". In other recent remarks, Trump called her "an excellent woman".elnacional+1

A changed relationship with Caracas

Machado has been out of Venezuela since she left for Oslo in late 2025 to collect her Nobel prize. Since then, Washington's relationship with Caracas has changed. A U.S. offensive in January killed more than 100 people and ended with the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The Trump administration has since built closer ties with Rodríguez's government, including an agreement on hydrocarbons. Trump has also suggested Venezuela is not ready for elections, a day after Rubio said they should take place "as soon as possible".diariolasamericas+1