Maria Corina Machado says her daring escape involved US help

Some details have emerged about Maria Corina Machado’s daring escape from Venezuela.

She was reportedly disguised and took a wooden fishing boat overnight in choppy seas to the Caribbean island of Curacao. From there, she flew by private jet to Norway.

Ms Machado has revealed little herself, however, promising to tell the story one day but not wanting to expose the people “who risked their lives” to get her to Oslo.

One fact she did confirm, when she spoke to the media here, was help from the US in her journey.

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Now here in Norway, she is reunited with her family, many of whom she hasn’t seen for two years.

She’s missed graduations and weddings and said she couldn’t sleep thinking of the moment she would hug her three children.

Pressed a number of times on whether she supported a possible US invasion of Venezuela to overthrow Nicolas Maduro, she wouldn’t commit outright but said that the country has already been invaded by Russia, Iran and terrorist groups like Hezbollah.

Ms Machado said she needed international help to bring back democracy. She was equally but understandably vague about her next movements.

The Venezuelan opposition leader will want to spend time with her family and revealed that she hasn’t seen a doctor for a proper check-up in over a year because she has been forced to live in hiding.

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She has also had many invitations, presumably from world leaders, to visit – she might decide that it is a good opportunity to build relations and support for the day Maduro does leave.

But she said she would go back to Venezuela “when the time is right” and “whether or not Maduro is still there”.

I’ve no doubt she will, but the journey home will be every bit as dangerous as the extraordinary journey out.