Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado made three attempts to return to Venezuela within 24 hours but was unable to complete the journey, as acting President Delcy Rodríguez held a high-profile meeting with US President Donald Trump in New York.
Machado sought to travel from Panama to Venezuela using different routes, according to a person with direct knowledge of her plans. The attempts included travelling by boat and flying to the Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curaçao before continuing by sea. Venezuela’s NTN24 first reported the attempts on Tuesday.
Machado’s efforts came as Rodríguez visited New York for the United Nations General Assembly, where she met Trump on Tuesday. A White House official confirmed the meeting, which was also attended by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The encounter was the most visible sign of closer ties between Washington and Caracas since Rodríguez assumed the acting presidency. Trump has recognised Rodríguez’s authority, eased sanctions and expanded economic ties with her government, most recently through a major oil agreement. In his UN speech, Trump highlighted US cooperation with Rodríguez’s government and described the oil deal as a reward for the US raid on Caracas that resulted in the capture of former President Nicolas Maduro, declaring: “To the victor belong the spoils.”
Machado’s daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, confirmed that her mother was actively attempting to return to Venezuela but said the process was complicated. “Right now she is trying to return, at this moment,” Sosa told NTN24 in New York, adding that there were “many forces” involved and that returning was not as simple as boarding a plane.
Sosa was speaking after accepting the 2026 Concordia Leadership Award on her mother’s behalf. Machado participated virtually in the ceremony and was expected to address her attempted return in the following hours.
The latest attempts follow several earlier efforts by Machado to return. In June, her plane was forced to divert. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal published last week, she said she was prepared to leave at a moment’s notice and could enter Venezuela by land, sea or air. It was not immediately clear whether the latest attempts were coordinated with Washington or whether Machado had received security guarantees. Trump has said he does not oppose her returning to Venezuela.
Rodríguez’s meeting with Trump marks a reversal for Maduro’s former vice-president, who was removed from the US Treasury’s sanctions list on 1 April. Maduro remains in federal custody in New York, facing US charges of narco-terrorism and drug trafficking.
Rodríguez arrived in New York on Monday, becoming the first Venezuelan leader to attend the UN General Assembly in person since Maduro in 2018. She also met UN Secretary-General António Guterres and representatives of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank as her government sought to rebuild ties with international financial institutions. Her visit and meeting with Trump prompted protests in New York and Caracas.
Machado was barred from participating in Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election, and her stand-in was later deprived of victory in a vote widely regarded as fraudulent. She went into hiding after the disputed election, saying she feared for her life as Maduro’s government targeted opposition leaders. She later left Venezuela in a clandestine operation to collect her Nobel Peace Prize and subsequently met Trump and other senior US officials in Washington. She has remained largely in Panama since her failed return attempts in June.
