I planned to go to bed early last night, but a lot of Venezuelan news broke, and my social media lit up with two very big stories. Neither one of them left many people very happy. 

The first was the much-talked-about meeting between Donald Trump and Venezuelan "interim president" Delcy Rodríguez. It was a casual, private pull-aside that I was hoping would remain casual and private. It did not. Late Tuesday night, pictures had made their way to social media, including one posted by Delcy herself.  

The Spanish caption says: "We held a historic meeting with the President of the United States, Donald Trump, with whom we discussed strengthening the bilateral relationship between our countries and advancing a cooperation agenda in strategic areas such as energy, mining, and security."  

That's a pretty big smile for an anti-American Marxist who was Nicolás Maduro's vice president, and who likes to talk about Trump's "imperial claws." And at first glance, it looks like she's flashing a peace sign, but I'm seeing a lot of British folks on social media suggesting something different. When someone makes a peace sign, their palm usually faces outward. Apparently, in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries, when the palm is facing inward, the meaning is "f**k you." 

Hey, I didn't make the rules. 

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For example, X-user Catherine Ellis posted, "I didn't think this photo was real at first given the two finger sign by Delcy, but it's been tweeted from her account. In many parts, including the UK, two fingers up facing this way means "f**k you" (asterisks not in the original) - like putting up the middle finger. I think universally the other way around is understood as the peace sign. But this way can be understood by many very differently."

Another person posted this handy guide (language warning):

Marco Rubio, Scott Bessent, Susie Wiles, and Stephen Miller were also apparently present during the meeting. The White House has not released any details of the meeting, and no members of the press were allowed to attend. 

As I said, this didn't go over well with many people, especially with Venezuelans in and outside the country who have lived under this woman's tyranny for years. I heard from many of them last night and this morning, and they are downright angry, especially given that the woman they have been trying to make their president for years has been denied entry into her own country at least three times this week and seven times all summer. 

Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado has made it clear that she wants to return to Venezuela to help create the path toward elections, despite the fact that she's putting her own safety at risk. But we found out on Tuesday night that while Rubio keeps saying she's welcome to return anytime, she's apparently not actually welcome to return anytime. 

Just to recap, Machado, who lived in hiding for over a year and a half after the sham 2024 Venezuelan elections, managed to escape the country last December and went to Europe to collect her Nobel prize. She's spent the last nine months in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America, meeting with politicians, Venezuelan exiles, and investors who want to see a free and democratic Venezuela. 

She attempted to return in late June after two major earthquakes devastated the country, and was literally in the air when the pilot of her plane received word to turn around. A couple of days later, she tried flying in commercially via Copa Airlines, but the Venezuelan regime warned Copa that if it allowed her to board, it would put its own ability to operate in Venezuela at risk. 

Attempts three and four happened sometime between July and September. The details on these are scarce. We can confirm she made one attempt by land through a neighboring country and one via a combination of land and sea. 

And this week, she's attempted three more times. The first was via a small recreational vessel that was supposed to transit the Panama Canal on the 21st and then spend about two days crossing the Caribbean to the Venezuelan coast. According to Spanish reporter David Alandete, the charter company suddenly cited a mechanical failure and refunded her money but would not offer another boat or to wait for repairs, which is awfully suspect.   

Next, she tried to fly into Aruba. Machado does not have a valid Venezuelan passport, but she's been staying in Panama, and that country offered her a diplomatic passport as a travel document. Even so, Aruba refused to allow her to land there. So, she tried to fly into Curaçao instead, which is how she escaped in December. Again, authorities there refused to allow her to land.

Related: Cuba Storms Out. Delcy Pouts. These Dictatorships Didn't Care for Trump's UN Speech.

Rubio was asked about all of this at the UNGA on Wednesday, and he claimed ignorance and basically gave the same answer he usually does. Machado is "brave." He's known her for a long time. The goal is for all Venezuelans to be able to return to their country.

Look, while I don't necessarily agree, I completely understand why Trump and Rubio may not want Machado in Venezuela right now. She will be a distraction. The regime's repression forces are still very much in place, and they will go after her.  

There is no politician on this planet (except maybe Nayib Bukele) who has the people of a country so unified behind them. This woman is beloved. She has been their only hope and only voice for years. She's also the person the regime hates more than anyone, and her presence will most likely lead to some sort of civil unrest that Rubio keeps saying they're trying to avoid.

But keeping her out of there and taking pictures with Delcy is going to lead to that, too. So is talking only of oil and not elections. So is the fact that Venezuelans are not seeing changes in their daily lives, and, in some cases, their lives are getting worse as they deal with increasing daily blackouts and the aftermath of a devastating natural disaster. So is allowing hundreds of political prisoners to remain behind bars months after they were promised freedom. 

Throw in the fact that leftists in the United States and in Latin America are already using this to campaign against us.  

Several members of our Congress and many of our allied leaders in Latin America are calling for elections to be held in Venezuela as soon as possible. It was a big topic at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday (and I'll have more on that later). Right now, many are pushing for the July 24, 2027, date that Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) keeps floating. It will take a lot to get there, and there is currently a team working on that, slowly and what feels like half-heartedly.   

Making it a priority should be Rubio's next move. If he doesn't, what may come next may be a much bigger problem than the ones he faces now.