Opposition leader Machado reports return to Venezuela

Machado back in Venezuela "I am here. With you" As of: October 25, 2026 • 8:41 p.m

Around ten months after her secret departure from Venezuela, Nobel Peace Prize winner Machado has returned to her homeland. According to US Secretary of State Rubio, “reconciliation talks” supported by the USA paved the way.

The leading Venezuelan opposition politician and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado has returned to her home country after almost a year in exile. "I'm here. With you," she wrote on the online service X.

Machado's ally and former presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia confirmed the 60-year-old's return. Neither initially provided any further information about their whereabouts or the circumstances of their return. "Today is a very important day for Venezuelans," said González Urrutia about Machado's arrival in the country. “With her, our sovereign voice returns to lead this process and steer it in the right direction!”

Just on Thursday, thousands of people in Venezuela demanded Machado's return. Around 2,000 demonstrators gathered in the capital Caracas and held posters demanding that elections be held. More people demonstrated in the western state of Táchira on the border with Colombia.

Machado secretly left Venezuela in December last year after being in hiding since the disputed 2024 presidential election. She traveled to Norway to attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. According to her spokeswoman, she broke a vertebra during a dangerous boat trip during her escape. She arrived late for the actual awards ceremony in Oslo. Her daughter accepted the award on her behalf.

Her daughter accepted the award on behalf of the Venezuelan opposition activist. more

In January 2026, Machado presented her Nobel Prize medal in Washington to US President Donald Trump, who had previously repeatedly claimed the award for himself. However, Trump apparently did not campaign for Machado to take on a leading role in her country.

Commenting on the news of her return, Trump said: "I don't know anything about it, but I think she's a very nice woman. She gave me her Nobel Prize. What else can I say? And I hope she's safe."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attributed Machado's return to talks about the country's political future. The conditions for their safe return are “the direct result of the US-supported reconciliation talks,” explained Rubio. As a result of these talks, hundreds of political prisoners have already been released and hundreds of opposition members have returned from exile.

Rubio called on all Venezuelan political forces to support the negotiations. They offer the country "the best chance in 30 years" to peacefully achieve not only free and fair elections, but also lasting democracy.

Machado most recently lived in exile in Panama. According to her party, Vente Venezuela, she was prevented from returning to her home country several times. The opposition politician has been campaigning for a change of political power in Venezuela for years.

The Venezuelan authorities banned Machado from running for the presidential election in July 2024. Then-President Nicolás Maduro subsequently declared himself the winner of the election, while the opposition claimed victory for González Urrutia.

After the election, the authorities took massive action against government opponents. 28 people were killed in the wave of repression and numerous opposition members fled abroad. At the beginning of January this year, US soldiers captured Maduro in Caracas and brought him to the US. Since then, interim President Delcy Rodríguez has led the government.

The 63-year-old faces a life sentence for “drug terrorism.” more

At the end of August, representatives of her government and the opposition began discussions about the country's political future. Both sides confirmed their willingness to hold presidential elections. Machado did not take part in the discussions.

This topic in the program: The First | daily news | Oct 25, 2026 | 5:45 p.m