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As President Donald Trump’s administration increases pressure on Venezuela, his allies are quietly working behind the scenes to invite opposition leader María Corina Machado to visit the White House, multiple people told Semafor.
- Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is among those working to get a Machado visit, but he told Semafor that he’d be “surprised” if it came together this week after the Venezuelan opposition leader was injured leaving the country to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
- Still, Scott said he’s trying to make it happen.
Trump allies seek White House visit for Venezuelan opposition leader
Updated Dec 17, 2025, 11:49am MST
Leonhard Foeger/ReutersThe proposal has not yet reached Trump’s desk and nothing has been
finalized.
But given the administration’s continued posture towards
Venezuela and its authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro, some allies
believe Trump would be open to the visit.
One person familiar with the
situation told Semafor that Machado would like to “present [Trump] with
her Nobel medal.”
Machado wants to “formalize the dedication of the prize to show the world that strength is a force for peace,” the person said. “The president is making a lot more friends down in Latin America and María Corina is in the on-deck circle.”
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senior White House official told Semafor that “no such meeting has been
scheduled” and Machado’s team did not immediately respond to a request
for comment.
Know More: In the last few weeks, Trump has continued upping the pressure on Maduro.
- Such a meeting would prove less controversial than other portions of Trump’s Venezuela policy, like the Pentagon’s two-tap strike on an alleged drug boat in September.
- Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has cosponsored resolutions to rein in military activity in the region, said he is “not in favor of initiating war with Venezuela” and that Trump’s policy is “essentially a war for regime change.”
- But he said wouldn’t oppose a visit to Washington by Machado.
Know More: In the last few weeks, Trump has continued upping the pressure on Maduro. - The Trump administration recently sanctioned Maduro’s nephews and a number of vessels carrying Venezuelan oil after seizing an oil tanker off the coast.
- On Tuesday, the president ordered “a total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers” entering an exiting Venezuela, and labeled the “regime” a “foreign terrorist organization.”
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