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Venezuela's Machado hasn't spoken to Trump since October, plans to return 'as soon as possible'
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado welcomes recent US action against President Nicolas Maduro.
Venezuela's Machado hasn't spoken to Trump since October, plans to return 'as soon as possible'
Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado speaks during a press conference in Oslo [FILE]. / Reuters
January 6, 2026

Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado has said she hasn't spoken to US President Donald Trump since October 2025.

"Actually, I spoke with President Trump on October 10, the same day the (Noble Peace) Prize was announced, (but) not since then," Machado said on Fox News' "Hannity" programme on Monday.

Machado - widely seen now the US-abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's most credible opponent- left Venezuela last month to travel to Norway to accept the award, and hasn't returned since.

"I'm planning to go as soon as possible back home," she told Fox News when asked about her plans to return to Venezuela.

The interview was Machado's first since the US launched strikes on Venezuela on Saturday and abducted its president.

She welcomed the US actions as "a huge step for humanity, for freedom and human dignity."

Venezuela's vice president and oil minister Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as interim president on Monday, but Washington's move over the weekend has left many to wonder about the future leadership of the South American country.

Trump on Saturday dismissed the idea of working with Machado, saying "she doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country."

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SOURCE:Reuters