Democracy in Venezuela: Opposition leader Machado is back in Venezuela

After ten months in exile, Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado (59) is back in her homeland. "I'm here. With you." The announcement via X on Sunday morning was simple.

Then Machado burst into Sunday mass at the Basilica of Santa Rosa near Barquisimeto, Lara state. A highly symbolic comeback: There is the site of the most popular Marian cult, that of the divine shepherdess. Churchgoers and party members accompanied her entry.

It took Machado around ten hours to travel the 370 kilometers to the capital Caracas, because along the way Venezuelans flocked to greet them, celebrate and accompany the entourage. The images are similar to those from the 2024 presidential election campaign. At that time, Edmundo González Urrutia ran at short notice - because Machado had been banned from running. But during the election campaign appearances in front of crowds on the streets, she was the one who stood at the front of the car and spoke to the people - while the much older González seemed almost shy.

In the election, he clearly beat Maduro, independent observers and opposition data showed. But the regime declared Maduro the winner. Authorities took violent action against government opponents, 28 people were killed and numerous opposition activists fled abroad.

Machado remained underground for months until she left the country in a cloak-and-dagger operation for the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony in December 2025. She was hours late. Her daughter accepted the award and gave a sensational speech. Machado then dedicated the Nobel Peace Prize to Donald Trump, who had claimed it for himself.

But he didn't want to know anything about her after US elite soldiers kidnapped authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro and his wife on January 3rd. Trump announced that he was neither in contact with her nor supported or respected in Venezuela. Machado welcomed the military operation and later even presented Trump with her Nobel Prize medal.

Nevertheless, Maduro's former vice president and finance and oil minister Delcy Rodríguez has been allowed to govern since then, with a large part of the previous Chavista guard. Trump has repeatedly emphasized what a “great job” Interim President Rodríguez is doing. Rodríguez has signed various deals with the US government for oil and other raw materials, although the legal basis is more than controversial. Maria Corina Machado sees the government under Rodríguez as a continuation of an “illegitimate regime,” she recently said in US media.

The USA is said to have prevented their return a few times. Not this time. One of the open questions is whether and what was negotiated. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio published a statement on The US expected all political actors to support these talks.

Machado has returned to push for an early election date - and then to run. Trump last stated again in September that it was still too early for elections. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez, who was supposed to be in office for only 90 days according to the constitution, has been avoiding giving a date for months.

In the coming days, Machado plans to meet with human rights defenders, civil society representatives and earthquake victims, an employee said. She also wants to tour the country. It remains to be seen how freely and safely she will be able to move.