Rubio Denies the U.S. Asked Other Countries to Keep Machado From Returning to Venezuela

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday flatly denied that the United States has asked foreign governments to keep Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado from returning home, calling the idea false during a news conference in Athens.

The exchange

Rubio was appearing alongside Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis when a Washington Post reporter asked whether the State Department would keep telling other governments not to help Machado get back to Venezuela, citing reporting by The Wall Street Journal. According to the State Department's transcript, Rubio asked who had said that, then challenged the idea that a newspaper report makes something true. "We've never asked anyone not to let anybody else in anywhere in the world," he said, adding that the premise of the question was not true.

What has been reported

Machado, who leads the Vente Venezuela movement and won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, has been trying to get home from exile. In July, the Journal reported that a June flight carrying her from Virginia toward Curaçao was ordered to turn back about an hour after takeoff, in what it described as a trip derailed by U.S. resistance. Axios reported at the time that the administration's official position was not to help her gain entry, and that the Dutch government reversed permission for her arrival while she was in the air.

The attempts have continued. Her senior adviser, David Smolansky, told CBS News that authorities blocked her from entering Venezuela three times within 24 hours in late September, Anadolu Agency reported. The Dutch news agency ANP, in a report carried by NL Times, said that about two weeks ago her plane was refused permission to land in Aruba or Curaçao, where she had planned to continue to Venezuela by boat, and that it remains unclear who made that call.

The Netherlands has declined to say whether it played a role. Prime Minister Rob Jetten said further comment could jeopardize cooperation with Venezuela's opposition, according to ANP, and suggested Washington is focused mainly on trade with Venezuela rather than on promoting democracy there.

The bigger picture

Venezuela has been in flux since U.S. forces captured President Nicolás Maduro in a January raid. Since then, according to ANP, the U.S. has been negotiating with his replacement. Machado has said she wants to return to take part in elections, which she says should be held before the end of the year.