Trump Tells Venezuela’s Opposition Chief Not To Return Residence: Report

[ad_1] President Donald Trump has helped cool expectations for Venezuela's opposition chief María Corina Machado, telling her that she mustn't return to her homeland for now, in accordance with The New York Instances.

The Instances, citing a U.S. official and one other individual briefed on the assembly, mentioned that the president and Machado met for breakfast on the White Home on Friday, the place they spoke for 2 hours.

Newsweek reached out to the White Home on Thursday night through e mail for remark.

Why It Issues Machado rose to worldwide prominence for her opposition to Nicolás Maduro, for which she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee mentioned it was honoring Machado “for her tireless work selling democratic rights for the folks of Venezuela and for her wrestle to realize a simply and peaceable transition from dictatorship to democracy.”

The U.S. earlier this yr captured and extracted Maduro from Venezuela so he can face costs of worldwide narco-terrorism, which put Machado squarely within the body as a possible successor. Nonetheless, Trump beforehand mentioned he thought Machado was a "very good lady" however that "it will be very robust for her to be the chief" and "does not have the help inside or the respect throughout the nation."

<img id="11670772" alt="" caption="Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado greets supporters from the balcony of the city hall after receiving the key to the city in Santiago on March 12, 2026. Machado travelled to Chile to attend Chile's President Jose Antonio Kast's inauguration. (Photo by RODRIGO ARANGUA / AFP via Getty Images)" captionoverride="Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado greets supporters from the balcony of city hall after receiving the key to the city in Santiago, Chile, on Thursday. (Photo by Rodrigo Arangua/AFP via Getty Images)" credit="" sourcealt="" sources="[]" fetchpriority="auto" loading="lazy" width="2008" height="1339" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" src="color:transparent;aspect-ratio:inherit;object-fit:cover" sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 1536px, (min-width: 768px) 768px, 100vw" srcset="https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2265572312.jpg?w=640&quality=80&webp=1 640w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2265572312.jpg?w=750&quality=80&webp=1 750w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2265572312.jpg?w=1000&quality=80&webp=1 1000w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2265572312.jpg?w=1200&quality=80&webp=1 1200w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2265572312.jpg?w=1360&quality=80&webp=1 1360w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2265572312.jpg?w=1600&quality=80&webp=1 1600w" bad-src="https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2265572312.jpg?w=1600&quality=80&webp=1"/> What To Know The Trump administration has indicated to Machado that returning to Venezuela wouldn't be a good suggestion for some weeks, in accordance with the Instances. Officers say safety circumstances within the nation stay too risky, and Trump has issues about Machado's security ought to she return.

These acquainted with the dialog mentioned the president solely suggested Machado, and that what he mentioned was not any sort of order to the Venezuelan politician.

In the mean time, Venezuela stays underneath the rule of performing President Delcy Rodriguez, who beforehand served as Maduro's vice chairman. Nonetheless, Machado stays the nation's hottest politician, at the same time as her political capital continues to decrease the longer she stays overseas.

Final week, Trump referred to Rodriguez as a "great president" who's main a "nice state of affairs" within the nation in the interim.

"She is doing a fantastic job, and they're all doing a fantastic job," Trump mentioned. "We have taken tons of of thousands and thousands of barrels of oil out already."

What Folks Are Saying Machado, on X earlier this week: "My pricey Venezuelans in Chile, what pleasure to have the ability to see one another this Thursday, March 12, in Santiago. We'll give one another that long-awaited hug that we'll quickly repeat in Venezuela and with our households! Let's all meet, getting ready for the reconstruction of our nation that we'll obtain TOGETHER."

European Parliament member Hermann Tertsch, on X: "I hope that nobody is misled by transitory maneuvers and deliberate confusions. The primary official president of Venezuela shall be, following some elections that should not be delayed for much longer, this heroine of the Venezuelan folks. Nobody else, and positively not a legal who betrays her band of murderers and narcos with the intention to survive, can maintain such an honor."