Opposition leader Machado says she has returned to Venezuela
Her ally Edmundo González Urrutia also said she was back. The opposition is pressing for a presidential election date during a US-backed transition.
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Her ally Edmundo González Urrutia also said she was back. The opposition is pressing for a presidential election date during a US-backed transition.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado reached Caracas late on 25 October, completing her journey home after more than 10 months in exile. Photographs showed her greeting supporters from a car’s sunroof as she entered the capital, the BBC said.
Machado covertly left Venezuela in December 2025 to receive her Nobel Peace Prize. Her party said authorities had blocked at least seven attempts to return. In January 2026, the US military seized longtime president Nicolás Maduro and took him to New York to face criminal charges; he has pleaded not guilty. His deputy, Delcy Rodríguez, became interim president with US President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
Machado attended Mass at the Divina Pastora shrine in Barquisimeto, in Lara state, on 25 October, where supporters embraced her. She then travelled east through Yaracuy state in a convoy. Images released by her aides showed her reaching towards dozens of supporters gathered beside the road.
The Guardian said there was no sign of security services interfering with her journey, although government members had previously hinted that she would be arrested if she returned.
After entering Caracas late that night, Machado wrote on X of a “Night of reunion in our Caracas” and called for political prisoners to be freed.
Asked about her return on 25 October, Trump said: “I don’t know anything about it, but I think she’s a very nice woman.” He also said he hoped she was safe.
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The Guardian said Trump’s administration had reportedly opposed her return because it believed her presence would complicate its relationship with Rodríguez. The US has denied involvement in delaying Machado’s return.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US-supported reconciliation talks had enabled Machado’s safe return, freed hundreds of political prisoners and allowed hundreds of opposition figures to return from exile. His statement on X was quoted by Al Jazeera.
Machado’s return is separate from her eligibility to stand for office. Maduro’s government barred her from running, accusing her of fraud and tax violations. She denied the allegations and called them politically motivated. Machado has previously said she would run for president again if an election were held.
France 24 said on 25 October that no presidential election was scheduled and Rodríguez had exceeded her authorised period as acting president. Machado and her allies are demanding an election date, while US officials have emphasised economic stabilisation first.
Edmundo González Urrutia, the exiled presidential candidate who reposted Machado’s return announcement on X and confirmed she was in Venezuela, said on 25 October that he would soon join her.
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