Venezuela's opposition leader María Corina Machado returns after months in exile

World

Carrie Kahn

Supporters of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gather to demand that a date be set for presidential elections in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. Ariana Cubillos/AP hide caption

Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado has returned to Venezuela after ten months abroad, announcing her arrival in a social media post.

In a post on X, Machado declared: "I'm here, with you all."

According to her campaign team, Machado made her first public appearance among worshippers at the Church of Santa Rosa in Lara State, in western Venezuela, where she was quickly surrounded by an ecstatic congregation.

Her return poses a challenge to interim President Delcy Rodríguez, who took over after U.S. forces captured former leader Nicolás Maduro in January.

The Trump administration has repeatedly sidelined Machado, despite her prominence in the opposition. She has called for elections to be held soon, but Washington says Venezuela must first stabilize.

In January 2025, Machado went into hiding in Venezuela after being briefly detained following a protest. Later that year, she left the country in a clandestine escape, and reappeared in December in Norway, where she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her peaceful challenge to Maduro's authoritarian government.

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Opposition figure Edmundo González Urrutia, who ran against Maduro in the disputed 2024 presidential election, confirmed Machado's return in a post on X, describing it as "a very important day for Venezuelans."

He wrote: "Our sovereign voice returns with her to lead and guide this process." González Urrutia, who is currently in exile in Spain, also said he expected to join Machado soon so the country could "truly advance towards freedom," concluding: "You know it, this is until the end."

Speaking to reporters as he left the White House on Sunday afternoon, President Trump said he knew nothing about Machado's return, describing her as "a very nice woman" and adding that she had given him her Nobel Prize.

"And I hope she's safe," he said, adding that "we're doing really well in Venezuela."

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