Blocked on Her Way to a Country Hit by a Powerful Earthquake, Nobel Peace Prize Winner Machado Fails to Return Home

[Financial News] María Corina Machado, an opposition leader from Venezuela who is staying abroad, tried to return home to help relief efforts after a recent powerful earthquake, but she was unable to board a flight.
According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 30th local time, Machado said, "I tried to board a flight from Panama to Venezuela, but failed." After saying she intended to return home following the recent earthquake, she had originally planned to take a Copa Airlines flight from Panama City to Caracas on the 28th. However, Copa Airlines officials said they were concerned that if Machado were allowed to return, the Venezuelan regime would suspend the airline's operations on its Venezuela routes.
Machado criticized the Venezuelan government, saying it is "obstructing humanitarian aid efforts and concealing information." She also reiterated her determination to return, saying, "I will take every necessary step to go back to Venezuela."
Machado, a leading figure in Venezuela's opposition, was selected as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate last year. She has remained abroad since fleeing Venezuela by boat in December last year. Having faced repression under the Nicolas Maduro administration, she was also seen as a potential future leader during Venezuela's political transition.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior U.S. officials were reportedly urging Machado to hold off on returning and to remain patient in order to preserve cooperation with Delcy Rodríguez's Venezuelan interim government. Machado recently traveled as far as North Carolina, but U.S. officials asked her to turn back, and she ultimately reversed course, according to reports. Regarding Machado's attempted return, the State Department said, "Venezuela is a sovereign state with an interim government that has authority," adding, "They have the final authority over their territory." The Venezuelan government did not comment.
whywani@fnnews.com Hong Chaewan Reporter