María Corina Machado, Nobel Peace Prize laureate 2025 and the main leader of the Venezuelan opposition, made her first public appearance in Panama City this Sunday by participating in a mass dedicated to the victims of the earthquake that devastated northern Venezuela on June 24, and stated that the pain from the tragedy has united the Venezuelan people.
The Eucharist was celebrated at the Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of Santa María La Antigua, in the Old Town of the Panamanian capital, and was presided over by the Metropolitan Archbishop José Domingo Ulloa.
Machado attended the religious ceremony alongside former Panamanian president Mireya Moscoso, who governed the Central American country from 1999 to 2004, without any prior announcement of her attendance.
At the end of the Mass, the opposition leader expressed her gratitude for the support received in Panama and conveyed her conviction about the future of her country: "Today we find ourselves in deep pain, but also in the faith that Venezuela will rise up, and all I want to say today is thank you to the people of Panama, to each and every one of you for how you have welcomed us. Venezuela will rise up stronger than ever; this pain has united us, has forged us."
This was her first public appearance in the Central American country since June 29, when she released a video denouncing that the regime of Nicolás Maduro closed Venezuela's commercial airspace to prevent her from returning to the country after the natural disaster.
During the homily, Archbishop Ulloa greeted Machado "with respect and closeness" and conveyed his "prayer that the Lord may enlighten her, strengthen her, and support her in the responsibility she has undertaken in service to her people."
Ulloa also called for concrete solidarity with the Venezuelan victims: "Today our prayers also embrace those who are suffering the consequences of the earthquake."
The collections made this Sunday in all the churches of Panama will be coordinated through Cáritas Nacional Panamá, in collaboration with Cáritas Venezuela, to ensure that the assistance reaches those who need it most with transparency.
The double earthquake of June 24 struck Venezuela on a national holiday, when entire families were at home, which worsened the number of casualties.
The state of La Guaira was declared a disaster area, with more than 250 collapsed buildings, the José María Vargas Hospital destroyed, and the Maiquetía International Airport severely damaged.
The official tally of the Venezuelan regime stands at 3,342 dead, although the UN estimated that up to 50,000 people are missing nationwide, a figure that has not been independently verified.
Machado's attempt to return to Venezuela also created friction with the Donald Trump administration: White House officials described his actions as "grotesque political opportunism" and claimed he was looking for "a photo op distributing aid," Axios reported on July 1.
Machado, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo in December 2025 after a perilous clandestine journey that included a maritime crossing to Curaçao, has emphasized her desire to be present in Venezuela: "I need to be there," she stated after learning the extent of the disaster.
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