Venezuela: Thousands demand Machado's return

Venezuela Thousands demand return of Machado As of: October 23, 2026 • 9:01 a.m

In Venezuela, supporters of opposition politician and Nobel Peace Prize winner Machado have called for her return. It was the largest rally since the US deposed President Maduro.

In Venezuela, thousands of people took part in rallies demanding the return of opposition politician and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado.

In the capital Caracas, around 2,000 demonstrators gathered in Plaza Venezuela and held signs calling for elections to be held. A rally also took place in the state of Táchira on the border with Colombia.

The rally in Caracas was the largest rally in the South American country since the US ousted and captured President Nicolás Maduro earlier this year. The demonstrators also demanded the release of more than 320 people who are being detained for political reasons, according to the human rights organization Foro Penal.

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Machado lives in exile in Panama after secretly leaving Venezuela to accept the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo a year ago; However, she missed the award ceremony at the time. According to her party, Vente Venezuela, she has been prevented from returning to her home country several times.

About a week ago, negotiations began without Machado between representatives of the government of interim President Delcy Rodríguez and the opposition. Both sides reaffirmed their desire to hold presidential elections in Venezuela.

The State Department in Washington welcomed the talks. These laid the foundation for free and credible elections, explained a spokesman.

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The US military captured long-time President Maduro in Caracas at the beginning of January and brought him to the USA, where he and his wife are to be tried on “drug terrorism” and torture allegations. After Maduro's fall, US President Donald Trump said that Venezuela was now under US control.

After a controversial presidential election, Maduro declared himself the winner in the summer of 2024. A wave of repression followed in which 28 people were killed. Numerous opposition figures went into exile. The prominent opposition politician Machado was prohibited from running for office by the Venezuelan authorities at the time.

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