Venezuela’s opposition leader Machado returns after months in exile

Ms Machado announced her arrival on social media on Sunday, writing: “I am here. With you.”

Meanwhile, Venezuela’s opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez wrote on X confirming that Ms Machado had arrived and that he would be next to her “very soon”.

“Today is a very important day for Venezuelans,” he wrote.

“Our sovereign voice returns with her to lead and guide this process!

“You know it, this is until the end.”

Ms Machado’s homecoming after more than 10 months in exile took place as doubts over Venezuela’s democratic future — and the US’s role in it — deepen.

Since Maduro’s ouster, Venezuela has been run by acting president Delcy Rodriguez, a long-time Maduro ally who received the Trump administration’s blessing to succeed him.

Ms Rodriguez has exceeded the time she was authorised to serve as acting president following Maduro’s capture and no election is scheduled.

Ms Machado went into hiding in Venezuela for 11 months after being briefly detained following a protest in January 2025.

After leaving the country in a clandestine escape, she reappeared that December in Norway, where she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her peaceful challenge to Maduro’s authoritarian government.

Ms Machado and her allies have been demanding a date for a presidential election in Venezuela, but US officials have emphasised economic stabilisation first.

In October 2023, Ms Machado won an opposition primary and intended to challenge Maduro in the 2024 presidential election, but the government barred her from running for office.

Mr Gonzalez took her place on the ballot, and ample credible evidence showed that he defeated Maduro by more than a 2-to-1 margin.

But the National Electoral Council, which is stacked with ruling-party loyalists, declared Maduro the winner.

The lead-up and aftermath of the election were marked by widespread government repression, including forced disappearances, torture and other human rights violations.

More than 2,000 people, including poll workers, were detained in the days after the vote.

In January, the US military captured Maduro in Caracas and whisked him to New York to face drug-related charges, which he has denied.

Many Venezuelans were stunned by the Trump administration’s decision to work with Ms Rodriguez, instead of Ms Machado, to try to revitalise the crisis-racked country.

Ms Machado had repeatedly vowed to return to Venezuela and, according to her party, she made seven unsuccessful attempts.

One of the efforts would have seen her take a charter boat, but the operator cancelled the trip, alleging the vessel was unfit for navigation.

In another attempt, her team said, Ms Machado tried to fly to the Caribbean island of Curacao, from where she could take a speedboat to Venezuela, but her plane was denied landing permits.

Opposition activists have accused Venezuela’s government of blocking Ms Machado’s return, a claim denied by Venezuelan authorities.

Others have also questioned whether the Trump administration has also been involved in the efforts to stop her from returning.

Trump administration officials deny they are holding Ms Machado back but have said that, on some occasions, they have advised her against returning over safety concerns.

After Maduro was deposed, Venezuela’s highest court said Ms Rodriguez could serve as acting president for up to 90 days — an interim appointment that could be extended by the National Assembly for an additional 90 days.

But the ruling party-controlled assembly never voted to extend her term.

Ms Machado and her allies have demanded that the Rodriguez government set a date for a presidential election.

Ms Rodriguez told the UN General Assembly in September that Venezuelans will determine the “right moment” for the next election.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio has argued that before holding new elections, Venezuela must stabilise its economy and rebuild its institutions, including its courts and electoral council.

But he said in a news conference earlier this month that Ms Machado has “every right to enter her country whenever she wants to return”.

Supporters of Ms Machado have held demonstrations in Caracas demanding her return.