Rubio rejects reports claiming US blocked Venezuelan opposition leader’s return

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday dismissed media reports alleging that Washington urged foreign governments to prevent Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado from returning to her home country.

“The premise of your question is not true. We’ve never asked anyone not to let anybody else in anywhere in the world,” Rubio said during a news conference alongside Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis in Athens, rejecting claims that the US State Department intervened to impede her movements.

Rubio pushed back against the assertions raised by reporters, saying published claims do not constitute established facts and that he could not respond to allegations based on falsehoods.

Machado, who leads the opposition movement Vente Venezuela, remains a prominent political rival of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was captured by the US in a raid in January.

Machado received the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for “her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela.”

In late September, authorities blocked her from entering Venezuela three times within 24 hours, her senior adviser David Smolansky told US network CBS News.