World
María Corina Machado returns to Venezuela after nearly a year: “I am here. With you”
The Venezuelan opposition leader appeared in Barquisimeto, about 350 km west of Caracas. It was not immediately clear how she managed to enter the country.
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
October 25, 2026, 21:40 · Updated 18:40 · 1 min read
In brief
- Machado announced on X that she was back in Venezuela, nearly a year after leaving to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
- Footage showed her in Barquisimeto, capital of Lara state, among supporters inside a church.
- The Trump administration reportedly opposed her return, fearing for its relationship with acting President Delcy Rodríguez.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado announced on Sunday that she had returned to the country, nearly a year after leaving to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. “I am here. With you,” she wrote on X. Her close ally Edmundo González, who is in exile, confirmed on social media that Machado was on Venezuelan soil and said he too would return soon.
Videos shared online showed Machado in Barquisimeto, the capital of Lara state, about 350 kilometers west of Caracas. In photos she was surrounded by supporters holding up phones inside a church. It was not immediately clear how she managed to enter the country.
Six failed attempts
Machado, 59, secretly left Venezuela last December, a few weeks before Nicolás Maduro was arrested in January. In recent months she reportedly tried more than six times to return without success, including after a devastating earthquake struck the northern coast in June. Her movement is widely seen as the winner of the 2024 presidential election, but Maduro refused to hand over power.
Washington and Rodríguez
After Maduro's fall, many expected President Donald Trump to back Machado to take power. Instead, Trump chose to work with Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro's former vice president, who now runs the country as acting president. The U.S. administration reportedly opposed Machado's return, fearing her presence could complicate its close relationship with Rodríguez, her political rival.
