Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado held a new meeting on Tuesday in Washington with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which she described as "excellent." "Excellent meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Thank you for your commitment to democracy, freedom, and the well-being of Venezuelans," Machado wrote in an Instagram post accompanied by a photo of the meeting at the Department of State. "The day is approaching when we will reunite our families in Venezuela!" she added. In a message sent to the press, Machado's communications team also indicated that the meeting was "very positive" and expressed gratitude to Rubio for "the opportunity to discuss and advance on the consolidation of a transition" that leads to an election and "guarantees the full exercise" of the rights of Venezuelans. In this regard, the team assured that Machado reaffirmed to Rubio that the Venezuelan population wants to live in a democracy under the rule of law, and reiterated that "the day of her return" "will be very soon." Neither the State Department nor Rubio have commented on the new meeting, which was held behind closed doors and was on the agenda of the head of U.S. diplomacy. The meeting takes place after the U.S. officially resumed operations at its Embassy in Caracas on Monday, following the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which had been broken since 2019, by the Donald Trump administration and the government of Venezuelan interim president Delcy Rodríguez. It also comes in the context of Machado having expressed her willingness to return to Venezuela after leaving the country last December to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway, having spent a year in hiding to avoid arrest by Venezuelan authorities, who have accused her of violence and calling for a military invasion. Last week, a Venezuelan delegation led by Chargé d'Affaires Félix Plasencia visited Washington to meet with members of the Trump administration and take control of the Venezuelan Embassy in the U.S., which had been guarded by the State Department since 2023. Since the capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces on January 3 in Caracas, the Trump administration and the government of Delcy Rodríguez have moved closer together and formally restored diplomatic relations between the two countries in early March. Trump has, for now, ruled out Machado to lead the South American country and instead recognized Delcy Rodríguez as head of state.
