Venezuelan opposition leader Machado returns after year in exile

Summarised from 6 outlets · Updated 25 Oct, 17:15 · Archive

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has returned to her home country after nearly a year in exile.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado announced her return to Venezuela on Sunday via social media, writing 'I am here. With you' on X. Her ally, former presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, confirmed the news minutes later, saying he was 'thrilled to announce' that their leader was 'on Venezuelan soil'. Images on social media showed Machado in Barquisimeto, the capital of Lara state, about 220 miles west of Caracas, surrounded by supporters in a church called the Sanctuary of the Divine Shepherdess.

Machado had covertly left Venezuela in December 2025 with a private US rescue team to accept the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway. Just weeks later, in January, the US military seized President Nicolás Maduro and flew him to New York to face criminal charges. Maduro's deputy, Delcy Rodríguez, was subsequently sworn in as interim president.

According to her party, Machado attempted to return seven times over the past three months, from the United States, Panama and Curaçao, but was repeatedly blocked by Venezuelan authorities. The Guardian reports that the Trump administration had reportedly opposed Machado's return, believing her presence would complicate its relationship with interim president Rodríguez. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied claims that Washington played a role in blocking her return.

Machado is considered a fugitive by the Venezuelan government, which accuses her of calling for military intervention. She has accused Rodríguez's government of being afraid of her return. In recent weeks, she called on Venezuelans to take to the streets and demanded that a date be set for presidential elections.

Machado's senior adviser David Smolonsky said her return is 'a major step toward a democratic transition and free, fair, and verifiable presidential elections in the near future'. González said he would return to be with Machado 'very soon', though he remains in exile in Spain. Her return comes as talks on Venezuela's future have continued without her direct participation from within the country.

How it is being reported

• Opposition leader Machado returns to Venezuela after 10 months in exileVenezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado announced on Sunday that she has returned to her homeland following almost a year in exile, after covertly leaving Venezuela in late 2025 to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She returns as doubts about her country’s democratic future and the role of the US are growing.France 24 · 25 Oct, 17:10
• Exiled Venezuelan opposition leader announces her returnNobel laureate María Corina Machado’s return after almost a year in exile is unlikely to please interim president Delcy Rodríguez The Venezuelan opposition leader, María Corina Machado, has announced she has returned to Venezuela, almost a year after she skipped the country to receive the Nobel peace prize. “I’m here. With you,” she wrote on X on Sunday lunchtime. Continue reading...Guardian World · 25 Oct, 17:00
• Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado returns to countryMachado covertly snuck out of the South American country in December with a private U.S. rescue team to accept the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize in NorwayCBS News · 25 Oct, 16:57
• María Corina Machado back in Venezuela after nearly 10 months in exileThe opposition leader was last in Venezuela in in December 2025, after which she left to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. Since then, she has carried out much of her political activity from the United States and Panama.Euronews · 25 Oct, 16:54
• Venezuelan opposition leader María Machado returns after months in exileMachado had left the country just a month before the US government seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.BBC News · 25 Oct, 16:21
• Venezuela's opposition leader María Corina Machado returns after months in exileMachado announced her arrival on social media, writing "I am here. With you."NPR · 25 Oct, 16:18

In this story: María Corina Machado · Nicolás Maduro · Delcy Rodríguez · Edmundo González Urrutia · Venezuela · United States · Donald Trump

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem