Machado seeks U.S. help to return to Venezuela after quakes

María Corina Machado has asked White House, State Department and congressional officials for help getting back to Venezuela, but senior U.S. officials were frustrated by the timing after twin earthquakes killed more than 900 people and forced Washington into a major relief operation. The tension underscores a recurring problem in U.S. policy toward Venezuelan dissidents: public support for democratic opposition figures can collide with disaster response, regional diplomacy and the administration’s own calendar.

The earthquakes, which struck with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, were among the strongest to hit Venezuela in a century. The interim government declared a state of emergency, and the U.S. response quickly widened to include search-and-rescue teams, coordinated medical supplies and $150 million in humanitarian aid. Christopher Landau, the deputy secretary of state, said Washington was mobilizing assistance, while Trump administration officials said they were in touch with Venezuelan authorities.

Machado left Venezuela in December 2025 after defying a decade-long travel ban to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She had spent more than a year largely in hiding after the disputed 2024 elections, when her camp said opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia defeated Nicolás Maduro by more than 2-to-1, even as ruling-party officials declared Maduro the winner. Her effort to return now folds a personal goal into a broader fight over whether Venezuela can hold a credible vote.

In Panama City in May, Machado said she planned to run for president again and intended to return to Venezuela before the end of 2026. She said a democratic transition would require free and fair presidential elections, neutral electoral authorities, updated voter rolls and protections for opposition candidates. She also said a credible presidential race would take seven to nine months of preparation, tying her return to a timetable that is as political as it is logistical.

The latest appeal puts Washington in the middle of two overlapping pressures: the urgency of a humanitarian emergency and the unresolved struggle over Venezuela’s political future. Machado remains one of the opposition’s most visible figures, but her bid to reenter the country now arrives at a moment when U.S. officials are focused on rescue, aid and the risk that any high-profile intervention could complicate both.