Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has returned to the country after more than 10 months in exile, amid uncertainty over her political future following the removal of President Nicolás Maduro by US forces in January.
“I am here. With you,” Machado wrote on X on Sunday, as supporters welcomed her return. She attended Mass in Lara state before travelling to the capital, Caracas, in a convoy accompanied by cheering supporters.
Machado later described her return as a moment of reunion, calling for the release of political prisoners and freedom for Venezuela.
Her ally and former presidential candidate, Edmundo González, welcomed her arrival, describing it as an important day for Venezuelans and saying he would soon join her in the country to advance the campaign for freedom.
Machado had reportedly made seven unsuccessful attempts to return in the weeks before her arrival, according to an adviser in September. Reports suggested that the US had been involved in delaying her return, an allegation Washington denied.
The opposition leader won an independent presidential primary in 2023 with more than 90 per cent of the vote but was barred by Maduro’s government from contesting the 2024 presidential election.
González ran in her place, while the government-controlled electoral authority declared Maduro the winner without publishing detailed voting tallies. The opposition disputed the result, presenting its own tallies as evidence that González had won.
Following Maduro’s removal, his deputy, Delcy Rodríguez, was sworn in as interim president and later signed an oil agreement granting favourable terms to the United States, according to the report.
Machado has previously said she would seek the presidency again if elections were held. However, her next steps remain unclear.
Her spokesperson, David Smolansky, described her return as “a major step toward a democratic transition and free, fair, and verifiable presidential elections in the near future”, while thanking US President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other governments for their support.
