Venezuela

María Corina Machado Says Venezuela Is Blocking Her Return as Earthquake Rescue Efforts Stall

The exiled opposition leader is claiming the regime wants “to bury the truth when Venezuelans want to bury our dead with dignity."

Jeremiah Alondra | 7.1.2026 4:31 PM

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(David Cruz Sanz/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom)

Mere days after devastating twin earthquakes rocked Venezuela and left tens of thousands dead, missing, or injured, opposition leader María Corina Machado is accusing the Venezuelan government of blocking her and others like her from entering the country.

The exiled Venezuelan opposition leader, who was on her second attempt to visit the country after the earthquakes, was in Panama when her flight to Caracas was canceled after the Venezuelan government suddenly closed its airspace to commercial traffic.

"The regime wants to block my return to Venezuela, as well as the return of thousands of fellow Venezuelans who want to go and help," Machado said in a video posted to X, "Just as it has tried to block the generous work of thousands upon........

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