Trump Praises Machado as Return Calls Grow on 5 October
VENEZUELA · UNITED STATES
Key Facts
- —The country Venezuela, an oil producer on the Caribbean coast, has been run by acting president Delcy Rodríguez since US forces seized Nicolás Maduro on 3 January.
- —Why it matters Washington now shapes Venezuela’s oil, security and migration policy, so any US signal on a Machado return moves politics in Caracas.
- —Why now On Sunday 4 October, María Corina Machado called her return home “urgent” in a New York Post opinion piece and demanded an election date.
- —What happened On Monday 5 October, Trump called Machado “a very fine woman” at the White House and said “it’s all going to work out,” but did not say he backs her return.
- —What it means for you Investors and Venezuelan Americans still have no timetable for an election or for the opposition leader’s homecoming.
- —Still open Machado has named no date for her return, and Trump did not say whether Washington will help her travel home.
- —Prediction markets Polymarket gives Machado a 36% chance of entering Venezuela by 31 December, down 13 points in a week (6 October, 2:22 a.m. ET).
US President Donald Trump praised Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado on Monday 5 October. He stopped short of backing a Machado return home. Asked on the White House grounds whether he supports her going back, he said “it’s all going to work out.”
The remarks matter to Americans because Washington has steered Venezuela since US forces seized Nicolás Maduro in January. Any change in US tone affects oil deals, migration and the timing of an election.
Trump spoke a day after Machado demanded an election date and called her return “urgent” in the New York Post, as reported in Venezuela Election Date Must Be Set, Machado Says, Vowing to Return.
Trump Praises Her but Commits to Nothing
ABC, the Spanish newspaper, says the question came from its Washington correspondent, David Alandete. Trump answered in one sentence before leaving the White House on Marine One for Nebraska.
“Well, I’d say one thing, she’s a very fine woman. She gave me her Nobel Prize because she knew I earned it and she’s a very fine woman, and it’s all going to work out,” Trump said, according to video and a transcript of the exchange.
He did not address a Machado return itself. Spanish-language outlets rendered his last line as “todo va a salir bien”.
Machado leads Vente Venezuela, a liberal, pro-market opposition party, and won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. She handed Trump her medal in the Oval Office on 15 January.
La Opinión, a Los Angeles daily, reported that Trump did not say whether Washington would step in to help her travel. ABC called the praise a significant change of tone after months of US signals that she should wait.
That reading is ABC’s analysis, not a stated policy change. Trump himself set no conditions and gave no timetable.
Rick Scott Raises the Pressure
On the same day, Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida, a long-time Machado ally, went further on X. His post was reported by La Patilla and El Informador.
Scott called Machado a long-standing defender of freedom and democracy in Venezuela. He said she was right that Trump’s action had set the stage. It was time, he wrote, for her to return and for the people to vote.
In late September, after a phone call with her, Scott said she was ready to sit down with those in power. That included acting president Delcy Rodríguez. Her party repeated that offer at the weekend, as covered in Venezuela Party Says Machado Ready to Meet Rodríguez.
Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice-president, has led the interim government since January. Infobae reports that her government denies blocking Machado’s return.
Rodríguez has also said Machado would have to answer for requesting sanctions and military intervention if she comes back, Infobae reports.
Machado left Venezuela in December 2025 to collect her Nobel Prize in Norway. Her team says she has tried at least seven times since June to return by air, sea or land, most recently from Panama in September.
What It Means for You
For investors, the key question is who will sign long-term oil and gas contracts. Washington’s oil and security cooperation currently runs through the Rodríguez administration, ABC notes.
Machado says she wants to prepare Venezuela to rebuild its institutions, its economy and its democracy. Trump’s praise keeps a Machado return on the agenda without changing current arrangements. Contracts signed now carry political risk if an elected government later reviews them.
For Venezuelan Americans, especially in Florida, the remarks offer no date for a vote or for her trip home. Travel and family plans still depend on decisions in Caracas, not in Washington.
The stabiliser is that Machado’s camp now speaks of talks rather than confrontation. Her press chief says she is ready to meet Rodríguez, and Trump avoided any hostile language.
What Is Not Known
It is not known whether the White House will ask Caracas to allow a Machado return. Nor is it known whether she has a new travel date.
It is also unclear whether Rodríguez would allow her to enter freely, or whether prosecutors would act against her on arrival.
No election date has been set. Machado has no seat in the US-backed talks between the interim government and the opposition that began on 1 August, Infobae reports.
What Prediction Markets Say
Bets on Polymarket give Machado a 36% chance of entering Venezuela by 31 December, as of 2:22 a.m. ET on 6 October. That price is down 13 points over the past week and 2.5 points in the past day.
About US$52,000 has been traded on that contract. A separate Polymarket contract, with about US$144,000 in volume, gives an 11.5% chance that an election date is set by 31 December.
Traders put only a 4.5% chance on Trump endorsing Machado for president in 2026, on about US$115,000 of bets. These are bets, not polls, and they can move fast on a single remark.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
Did Trump say he supports Machado’s return to Venezuela?
No. Asked on 5 October whether he backs her return, Trump praised Machado and said “it’s all going to work out.” He did not explicitly endorse her going back or offer US help.
Why has María Corina Machado not returned to Venezuela?
She left in December 2025 to collect her Nobel Peace Prize. Her team says at least seven attempts to return since June have failed, while the interim government denies blocking her.
What did Senator Rick Scott say?
The Florida Republican wrote on X on 5 October that it was time for Machado to return to Venezuela and for the people to vote. He credited Trump’s action for setting the stage.
Sources: ABC (5 October); Diario Las Américas (5 October); La Opinión (5 October); La Patilla (Rick Scott); El Informador (Rick Scott); Tommy Christopher (gaggle transcript, 5 October); Infobae (5 October); Polymarket market data, 6 October, 2:22 a.m. ET.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief