Venezuelan Opposition Leader Maria Corina Machado's Return Flight Blocked by US Government

Maria Corina Machado, Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, attempted to return to Venezuela for the first time since fleeing in December. On Friday, she took a private flight from Washington to the Caribbean island of Curaçao, intending to continue by boat to a fishing village on the Venezuelan coast. Machado and her team believed the recent severe earthquakes in Venezuela created a timely opportunity to end her exile. They also assumed all necessary approvals had been secured from the Trump administration for the journey.

However, about an hour after takeoff, the private plane's pilot was ordered to turn back to the Washington area. Reports indicate that the Dutch government, responsible for Curaçao's foreign relations, revoked the plane's landing permission after learning of US opposition to the trip. This US intervention contradicted the opposition's earlier expectations, especially given Machado's previously close ties with then-President Donald Trump.

In January, Machado had awarded Trump the Nobel Peace Prize medal she received, recognizing his role in the operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro by US forces earlier that year. Trump accepted the medal and stated he would keep it, despite the Norwegian Nobel Committee clarifying that the prize is non-transferable.