Machado accuses Trump's Venezuela oil partner of corruption, promises return

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado criticised the Trump administration's handpicked partner in Venezuela and accused its new oil partner in the country of corruption in an interview with The New York Times.

The interview was published on Oct. 19 The New York Times. In a separate account of her remarks, The Times reported that she accused the new oil partner of corruption The New York Times. In the wide-ranging interview, she promised to return to Venezuela.

Machado has made three unsuccessful bids to return to Venezuela Reuters. Her promise to return was described as an intent, not a completed journey.

Machado won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize Reuters. She gave her Nobel Peace Prize medal to U.S. President Donald Trump in January. Trump said he accepted the medal because she offered it to him Associated Press.

Machado met with Trump Associated Press. In March, she said the Trump administration remains a key ally for Venezuela's democratic transition Associated Press. In early January, she said she had not spoken to Trump since October Reuters.

She has called for elections next year, saying there was more than enough time to prepare Reuters.