US Backed Machado Plans Venezuela Return

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado is preparing to return home after nine months in exile, planning a nationwide political campaign for new presidential elections even as the Trump administration increasingly works with interim President Delcy Rodríguez on Venezuela’s political and economic transition.

“The moment to return has arrived,” Machado told The Wall Street Journal in an interview from Panama City published Saturday.

“I cannot lead the process from abroad,” she said.

Machado’s return would place one of Venezuela’s most prominent opposition leaders back inside the country at a time when Washington has developed a close relationship with Rodríguez, who assumed power after former President Nicolás Maduro was captured in a U.S. military operation in January. Trump is scheduled to encounter Rodríguez in New York on Tuesday during a reception on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, according to U.S. officials.