US says it will not block Maria Corina Machado's return to Venezuela

The United States will not block Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado from returning to Venezuela, Deputy Assistant Secretary for South America Luis Mendez told Congress on Wednesday. Mendez said State Department policy was not to obstruct Machado's return, but he also said work was needed so that she would not be arrested if she went back.

Machado left Venezuela last December to receive her Nobel Peace Prize in Norway and has not returned since then. The report said she has tried several times to return to Caracas since the devastating double earthquakes on June 24, but was blocked by diplomatic pressure from Venezuela.

Asked whether the US government had sought to persuade interim president Delcy Rodriguez to allow Machado to return, Mendez said the United States had made its position clear to the interim authorities. Rodriguez has been in power since the US overthrow of then-president Nicolas Maduro in January. She announced Tuesday that her government has a plan to meet with opposition party members starting next month.