Ever since U.S. military forces captured Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Delcy Rodriguez has walked a tightrope. Maduro taunted Donald Trump and ran his narco-state with impunity, boosted by ties to Iran, China, and Hezbollah. After getting a big whiff of Consequences American Style in the new Donroe Doctrine era, Maduro's #2 has become compliant to the point of obsequiousness. Rodriguez may be a Chavista, but she's also well aware of the realities of survival in the Trump era.
Survival may not rely entirely on Trump, however. After nearly a year in exile, opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado made a surprise return to Venezuela yesterday. And the people made sure everyone knew how they felt about it:
Maria Corina Machado, Venezuela's opposition leader and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, made a surprise return home on Sunday after nearly a year in exile, drawing jubilant crowds in a direct challenge to the US-backed interim government.
Thousands of people lined highways, toll plazas and city streets waving Venezuelan flags and chanting "Liberty!" as Machado entered Caracas in a convoy of cars and motorbikes.
Wearing her trademark white T-shirt and blue jeans, she leaned through the sunroof of a vehicle to wave to the crowds and shake hands with her supporters.
In Guacara earlier, AFP witnessed Machado singing the national anthem as supporters packed out a plaza, waving flags and cheering her return.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the US both assisted in Machado's return and was not exactly thrilled by the timing. The Trump administration has been attempting to massage the situation by stabilizing Rodriguez' control and at the same time pushing for a return to democracy. Machado's sudden return throws some sand in those gears:
On her journey, Machado was accompanied by a private security team of Americans and had assistance from Colombia’s conservative government, the person said. Rodríguez was told by the U.S. not to interfere with Machado’s return, the person said.
Before fleeing Venezuela last year, Machado had been in hiding since a 2024 presidential election in which she had been barred from running but which her party nonetheless handily won, according to international observers. The U.S. and other governments said that Rodríguez’s predecessor, Nicolás Maduro, had stolen the vote from Machado’s handpicked candidate, Edmundo González, to remain in power.
Machado’s successful return follows at least seven failed attempts to return through Curaçao and Panama, some of which were thwarted amid opposition by American authorities. U.S. officials have backed transition talks involving another opposition leader, Dinorah Figuera, that concluded a third round last week with agreements to review judicial and legal reforms but no timetable for a presidential election. Machado, a 59-year-old industrial engineer turned politician, has said she was shut out of those negotiations.
The Trump administration seems to have reversed course, at least on Machado. The midterms might have something to do with that, the WSJ reports:
Florida Republican lawmakers have backed Machado’s return amid concerns that Trump’s support for Rodríguez and the sidelining of Machado were alienating Venezuelan and Cuban voters ahead of the midterms.
Well, maybe. Getting rid of Maduro and keeping Rodriguez under Trump's thumb should have been reason enough to keep those voters on board. The same is true for Trump's Cuba policy, which has pushed the Castro regime nearly into full collapse. It seems pretty minor as midterm election issues go, especially with Stalinista Angie Nixon on the Florida ballot. Come on, man.
If not that, then what? Trump probably wanted to avoid sharp changes in direction and revolution in Venezuela, preferring to manage a transition instead. Rodriguez is cooperating on Trump's big demands: access to oil, return of private property to American energy interests, and cutting off Iran and China altogether. Rodriguez now understands that Trump had plenty of hole cards to play while the rump Chavistas have a jack-high hand and nothing more to push into the pot. Trump likely preferred that status quo to extend a little further.
Still, Machado's return was inevitable and, in the long run, beneficial. Machado represents the main opposition movement, and she is its most well-known target of oppression. Her return may complicate the timing Trump and his team had in mind, but it shouldn't derail the outcome of having a free and friendly Venezuela on its way to economic and political restoration.
As for timing, it signals that Delcy Rodriguez has just about exhausted hers. She had better choose more wisely than her mentor when Trump offers her an easy retirement in exile. Rodriguez and her regime will not like what follows when Machado takes the reins in Caracas.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are once again respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
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