Senior US officials frustrated by Machado bid to return to Venezuela after quakes: White House official

A renewed push by Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado for US help to return home following devastating earthquakes in the South American country is frustrating senior officials in Washington, a White House official said on Saturday.

Machado has reached out in recent days to several US administration officials, including at the White House, the State Department, and several members of Congress, asking for help facilitating her return to Venezuela, the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Twin earthquakes struck Venezuela this week, killing more than 900 people. Machado left Venezuela in December, defying a decade-long travel ban to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, after mainly living in hiding for more than a year following disputed elections in 2024.

"We support her returning to Venezuela, but does it have to be 24 hours after a massive humanitarian catastrophe where the death toll continues to climb?" the White House official said.

A spokesperson for Machado did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The US captured former President Nicolas Maduro in January, raising hopes among some of his opponents that Machado, 58, would play a central role in running the country.

However, US President Donald Trump instead backed Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro's former deputy, saying Machado did not have the support needed to run the country in the short term.

Machado has been calling for free and fair elections and, before the earthquakes this week, said she expects to return to her homeland by the end of this year. Since leaving Venezuela, Machado has mainly been based in the US.

The United States has mounted a recovery effort for Venezuela in the wake of the earthquakes.

A State Department spokesperson said the US has mobilised search and rescue teams, is coordinating deliveries of medical supplies, and unlocked $150 million in humanitarian aid.