Posted on 07/03/2026 5:38:56 AM PDT by Miami Rebel
Exiled Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado was on a flight to return home when the plane was abruptly forced to return after Washington allegedly withdrew its support, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who has been in exile since December, was apparently warned through “intermediaries” that if she pushed forth with her bid to go home to the earthquake-devastated country, she could derail President Donald Trump‘s strategy for Venezuela, according to the outlet.
That would add more delays to the country’s elections, sources told the paper.
Machado made the $35,000 trip last week believing she had the president’s support, according to the WSJ.
A day after Machado’s plane was forced to turn around, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio allegedly tried to dissuade her, citing earthquake relief efforts, the paper reported.
Rubio’s caution didn’t stop Machado, who tried again on Sunday before the effort was scuttled when Copa Airlines declined to let her aboard one of their flights, The WSJ reported, noting the airline didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Before she fled the country, Machado, 58, was the most significant political challenger to former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, who was captured by the U.S. in a daring January military operation.
In 2024, she was barred from running in the country’s presidential election.
In May, she gave a speech in Panama City pledging to run for office in her homeland.
“I will be a candidate, but there may be others, of course,” Machado told reporters. “I would love to compete with everyone, with anyone who wants to be a candidate.”
The Trump administration has thrown its support to acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who previously served as Maduro’s vice president.
Nearly 2,600 people have been killed after a pair of twin earthquakes ravaged areas of northern Venezuela.
The earthquakes made her return more urgent, Machado argued on Fox & Friends earlier this week.
“The time has come,” she said.
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Watching the Venezuelan earthquake is like watching the 1995 Kobe earthquake: buildings designed to be earthquake proof stood, buildings not designed to be earthquake proof collapsed.
In Kobe, they learned the hard way how highway construction had taken shortcuts, with elevated throughways collapsing when their poles were found to have been built with inferior materials. That’s going to almost certainly be the case in Venezuela.
I can understand Machado wanting to be there during the crisis; it is her country after all, she isn’t a Karen Bass who doesn’t mind being halfway around the world while her city burns to the ground. Trusting Trump in this case is probably the best, but I understand her desire to be with her people.
Why should we be activey blocking her return home? She can’t be any worse than the current crowd running Venezuela without a free election.
They've already discovered that a lot of the buildings put up under a construction push by Chavez was just Styrofoam with a thin concrete coating.
Because Trump has thrown his support behind Delcy Gomez of the far-left United Socialist Party of Venezuela.
And if you don’t support the far-left United Socialist Party of Venezuela, you are a RINO!
You folks are missing something. Need I tell you?
Something is up with this chick. President Trump didn’t like her from the get go.
There’s more to this story
He liked her well enough when she gave him her Nobel.
**You folks are missing something. Need I tell you?**
Let me answer my question with another: Does the name Benji Aquino mean anything to you?
This is the internet, just post it, we aren’t sitting in a bar having a conversation.
You’re smarter than that. I’m still trying to find the meaning of horny 7.
I have no idea what any of your silly posts on this thread are about.
You R too sensitive.
That made no sense either, I guess you are drinking or something.
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