The Secretary General of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), Diosdado Cabello, has reiterated that "no one is preventing" the opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, María Corina Machado, from returning to the country, thus rejecting the leader's allegations, who has recently maintained from Panama that the Delcy Rodríguez government is blocking her return out of "fear" of a democratic transition.
In his television program "Con el mazo dando," Cabello has issued a direct challenge to the opposition leader to return immediately and has labeled her claims about an alleged border veto as "pure straw." "Why doesn't she come? Let her come to Venezuela, no one is preventing her from coming," insisted the Chavista leader, who claims that the real "problem" for Machado is the political scenario she would have to face upon stepping on Venezuelan soil. "That is her problem, so she wants to pass it on to the world," he emphasized.
Cabello's version clashes directly with Machado's account. A few days ago, the opposition leader stated from Panama that she is doing "everything in her power to overcome all obstacles," although she admitted that, for now, "it has not been possible" to finalize her return to Caracas. "Evidently, the Delcy Rodríguez regime fears my return because it knows that there is an entire country that is united and willing to advance civically and firmly to achieve our task, which is a transition to democracy," she stated, emphasizing that the interim government will not be able to prevent Venezuela from "being free."
Her objective has garnered support from the international community and, in particular, from representatives of U.S. politics. The opposition leader recently thanked the public backing of Republican Congressman Carlos A. Giménez, who argued that her return will strengthen the path to freedom, and she also has the support of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The U.S. president has praised Machado on several occasions, calling her an "excellent woman" last week when he expressed his confidence that "everything is going to turn out well" in the South American country. However, six days earlier, Trump himself considered that it is still "too early" to call for elections in Venezuela, highlighting his "very good" relationship with Delcy Rodríguez and the "enormous amount of oil" extracted from the country.