Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado made three unsuccessful attempts to return home from Panama in the past 24 hours, her team said, as interim President Delcy Rodríguez met US President Donald Trump in New York.
Machado tried to reach Venezuela by different routes, according to people familiar with her plans. The attempts included a boat journey and flights toward Aruba and Curaçao, followed by plans to continue by sea.
Her latest efforts came as Rodríguez attended the UN General Assembly and held her first meeting with Trump since Nicolás Maduro was captured in a US operation in January.
The timing highlights the sharply different positions of the two Venezuelan leaders. Rodríguez has been building ties with Washington, while Machado remains outside Venezuela and has struggled to secure a route home.
Machado’s team said the three latest attempts bring her total efforts to return to at least seven. She has remained in Panama since her previous attempt in June.
Her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, said Tuesday that Machado was still actively trying to return. She acknowledged that the journey involved complicated political and logistical factors.
Machado had previously said she was prepared to return by land, sea or air. She left Venezuela late last year after spending months in hiding and travelled to Norway to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
Her return has become increasingly complicated as Washington works with Rodríguez’s interim government.
Reuters reported last week that US officials had shown reluctance toward Machado’s return amid concerns that her presence could complicate the US-backed transition. The report said opposition figures and analysts viewed her exclusion from current talks as a growing political dilemma.
Trump, however, has said he does not oppose Machado returning. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also said she has the right to return.
It remains unclear whether the latest attempts were coordinated with Washington or whether Machado had received any security guarantees.
Rodríguez’s position has moved in the opposite direction.
She travelled to New York for the UN gathering and met Trump on Tuesday at a reception hosted by the US president. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also attended.
The meeting marked the first face-to-face encounter between Trump and Rodríguez since Maduro’s removal. It also underscored the expanding relationship between Washington and Caracas.
Rodríguez has sought to rebuild Venezuela’s relations with international institutions during her visit. She met UN Secretary-General António Guterres and representatives of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank.
Her government has also reached agreements with Washington over Venezuela’s oil sector, giving the US a growing economic role in the country’s transition.
That rapprochement has unsettled parts of Venezuela’s opposition.
Machado has argued for a democratic transition after the disputed 2024 presidential election. She was barred from running in that election, while her replacement candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, was later denied the presidency by authorities despite opposition claims that he won.
Machado subsequently went into hiding as authorities targeted opposition figures. She eventually left the country and has remained abroad.
Rodríguez, a former vice president under Maduro, has instead emerged as Washington’s principal Venezuelan counterpart.
Her government has allowed some opposition politicians, activists and journalists who spent years abroad to return. Machado’s own attempts have so far failed.
The contrast has added another complication to Venezuela’s political transition.
Machado’s return would put one of the country’s most prominent opposition figures back inside Venezuela at a time when Washington is deepening its relationship with Rodríguez.
For now, Machado remains in Panama.
Her latest attempts show that she intends to return. They also show how difficult that return remains, even as the interim government in Caracas strengthens its ties with Washington.
