Overview
- Senior U.S. officials say Deputy Secretary Chris Landau twice told foreign counterparts that the United States would facilitate Machado’s travel, a claim that contradicted the department’s stated policy and prompted alarm inside State.
- The Netherlands initially cleared Machado to land in Curaçao after a June 24 conversation with Landau, then reversed permission the next day when Assistant Secretary Mike Kozak told Dutch officials the U.S. would not be aiding her trip, forcing her plane to return.
- A June 26 text from Panama’s foreign minister showed Landau replying that Panama’s plan to arrange Machado’s onward travel was a “perfect description” of U.S. position, and Machado later reached Panama before airlines blocked her from flying on to Venezuela.
- The incidents produced two days of heated internal disputes, reports that Landau yelled at colleagues, and continued monitoring of Machado’s movements as U.S. officials brace for possible travel to Colombia or Europe.
- State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott has publicly defended Landau and said the department stands behind President Trump and Secretary Rubio, while unnamed senior officials continue to assert he miscommunicated policy, leaving the episode contested and reputationally sensitive.