Three failed attempts in one week
María Corina Machado said she was barred from returning to Venezuela three times over the past week and is stranded in Panama, unable to board a flight home. Her team confirmed on Tuesday that the former lawmaker tried to travel by sea and by air in recent days, but none of the journeys went ahead. With these episodes, the number of thwarted attempts since she left the country in December 2025 would reach at least seven.[S1][S2]
According to reports, the first plan involved a sea crossing. Immigration authorities had already stamped Machado's passport, but the departure was called off over what were described as mechanical problems with the vessel. She then sought to fly from Panama to Aruba and later to Curaçao, intending to continue on to Venezuela, but neither flight was allowed to take off from Marcos A. Gelabert airport.[S1][S2]
The failed attempts follow earlier ones. On June 29, Machado said Venezuela's closure of commercial airspace had stopped her from returning to accompany victims of the double earthquake that struck days earlier. Her team says the obstacles have included mechanical failures, last-minute cancellations and airspace restrictions, citing reporting by the Spanish newspaper ABC and the Colombian channel NTN24.[S1][S2]
Washington's role and the Caracas talks
The situation unfolds amid a rapprochement between Donald Trump's administration and Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump's government, which maintains close ties with Rodríguez, had blocked Machado from returning. US officials have denied any formal ban: Cartwright Weiland, deputy assistant secretary for international narcotics affairs at the State Department, told Congress on July 15 that she is a Venezuelan citizen and has the right to return.[S1][S2]
The new complaint coincided with a meeting between Trump and Rodríguez on Tuesday in New York, where both are attending the UN General Assembly; the content of their talks was not disclosed. Meanwhile, Venezuela is holding a second round of negotiations between part of the opposition and the interim government, focused on a transition, upcoming elections and the freedom to engage in political activity. Machado is not taking part, but has said she will not obstruct the talks and expects concrete results.[S1][S2]
The Plataforma Unitaria Democrática, Venezuela's largest opposition coalition, demanded on Tuesday that Machado's right to return be respected and expressed firm solidarity with her. Machado left Venezuela in December 2025 to receive the Nobel Peace Prize medal in Norway, after spending about a year in hiding to avoid arrest.[S1][S2]
