María Corina Machado assures that “the time has come” to return to Venezuela after the earthquakes

“The time has come, it is my duty to accompany my people, we need to be together to hug each other, to cry, to grieve together, but also to give each other strength in this very difficult time,” said the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner from exile, in an interview with the Fox network.

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On June 24, Venezuela suffered two earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 that, so far, have claimed the lives of 1,450 people.

The earthquakes also left 3,150 injured and 12,721 families affected.

As soon as the earthquake occurred, Machadoin exile since the end of 2025 and who was previously in hiding in her country since the 2024 elections to avoid being arrested by the Government of Nicolás Maduro, asked her people for strength and unity in a message on the social network X.

Today, the Venezuelan leader indicated to Fox that at this moment the absolute priority is to save lives and “console and help those who have been affected.”

“Very soon I will be back in Venezuela, alongside the Venezuelan people,” he stated.

However, The demand to return to his country is apparently not well received in Washington, as told to the New York Times by two officials from President Donald Trump’s Administration.

According to the newspaper, Machado has asked Washington for help to return to his country but the claim is seen as “inappropriate” by the two officials. who do not identify themselves, and one even considers it a “political trick.”

Machado, who gave his Nobel Prize to President Trump, has wanted to return to Venezuela for months.

However, the newspaper points out that in a meeting at the White House that took place last March, several US leaders expressed their concern for Machado’s safety since they consider that the US Government has prioritized work with the interim Government headed by the president in charge of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez.