Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s deputy, Chris Landau, is accused by seven senior Trump administration officials of twice miscommunicating U.S. policy on Venezuela to foreign governments, according to reporting from Axios. Landau, the second-highest official at the State Department, allegedly told both the Netherlands’ and Panama’s ambassadors that the U.S. would support opposition leader María Corina Machado’s return to Venezuela—contradicting the Trump administration’s official position.
The incidents unfolded in late June following devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24, killing more than 3,500 people. Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate living in exile in the U.S. without a valid Venezuelan passport, sought to return home to help with relief efforts.
In a conversation with Netherlands Ambassador Birgitta Tazelaar, Landau appeared to advocate for Machado’s travel to the Dutch-owned island of Curaçao and then to Venezuela, telling Tazelaar, “This is U.S. policy and it’s supported by Secretary Rubio.” The Dutch subsequently approved Machado’s travel. But when Tazelaar called U.S. Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Mike Kozak the next day, June 25, she learned the U.S. had not cleared Machado to travel. As Machado’s plane was in flight, the Dutch reversed permission, and her aircraft returned to Manassas, Virginia.
“There’s a widespread belief that Landau went rogue,” one official told Axios. “And the evidence supports that belief.” Another said, “Marco isn’t happy” with his deputy over the fallout.
Days later, Landau allegedly repeated the same miscommunication to Panama’s Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha on June 26. In a text message, Martínez-Acha wrote: “I understand that your country will make arrangements so that this person can enter Venezuela.” Landau responded immediately: “Perfect description of our position.” Machado attempted to fly to Venezuela from Panama on June 28 but was blocked when officials in Washington and Caracas voiced displeasure.
Landau, 62, is a former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico and the son of a former U.S. diplomat who served as ambassador to Venezuela. One official described him as “eerily incapable of saying anything positive” about the interim government in Caracas or “negative about Machado.” Landau insisted to Rubio and others that he hadn’t explicitly said the U.S. supported Machado’s plans, claiming he was misunderstood.
The State Department defended Landau in a statement to Axios, saying the department remains “in lockstep behind President Trump and Secretary Rubio in advancing the president’s foreign policy agenda” and that “Deputy Secretary Landau is a trusted member of the department’s leadership team.” Landau denied misrepresenting U.S. policy through a State Department spokesperson.
The controversy underscores frayed relations between the Trump administration and Machado. Trump authorized the January 3 raid that led to the capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro, who was extradited to face narco-terrorism charges in New York. The administration elevated Maduro’s former vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, to lead the country—a move deeply unpopular with Machado’s supporters, who want elections. Machado symbolically gifted her 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Trump after the Maduro operation, but the president has remained cool toward her return to Venezuela.
Sources
- Axios — detailed reporting on Landau’s alleged miscommunications to foreign officials about Machado’s travel plans, including text message exchanges and internal State Department reactions
- The Daily Beast — account of the incidents and quotes from seven senior officials expressing concerns about Landau’s conduct
