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United States President Donald Trump stated this Sunday that he knows "nothing" about the return to Venezuela of the opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, María Corina Machado, but expressed his wish that she is safe.
"I don't know anything about it," Trump said when asked by reporters in Washington about Machado's return to the South American country.
"She is a very nice woman. She gave me her Nobel Prize, so how could I say anything else? I hope she is safe," added the president. Trump to reporters in Washington.
After remaining almost a year out of the country, Machado reappeared this Sunday during a mass in the town of Santa Rosa, where she was received with hugs by supporters of her party, Vente Venezuela (VV).
In images released by her communications team, the opposition leader is seen greeting attendees at the mass and other people in the town square.
So far, no details have been disclosed on how she returned to Venezuela or whether Washington had any role in her return.
The Trump administration has imposed a de facto tutelage over Venezuela following the military intervention in which it captured Nicolás Maduro earlier this year.
Then-Vice President Delcy Rodríguez assumed power on an interim basis and backed a controversial oil agreement with Washington that contemplates the Pentagon acquiring a 35% stake in the parent company of NABEP, a firm with exploitation rights over 17 Venezuelan oil fields.
Before leaving Venezuela, Machado remained in hiding for almost a year to avoid being arrested after denouncing fraud in the 2024 presidential elections.
In those elections, the National Electoral Council (CNE), questioned for its affinity with Chavismo, proclaimed Maduro the winner without publishing the disaggregated voting results.
[Publicidad]