Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado returned home on Sunday after months in exile. Her arrival comes as acting President Delcy Rodríguez governs without setting an election date.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado returned to Venezuela on Sunday after nearly a year abroad, according to reporting from Fox News. Machado announced that she was back in the country through a brief social media message, stepping back into a nation led by acting President Delcy Rodríguez following the capture of Nicolás Maduro earlier this year.
A surprise arrival in Venezuela
Machado didn’t share her location inside Venezuela or explain how she crossed the border, and Venezuelan authorities consider her a fugitive over accusations that she called for foreign military intervention. Her team confirmed her return on Sunday, CBS News reported.
Senior adviser David Smoalnsky said Machado came back to stand with Venezuelans pursuing democracy and justice. In a statement to CBS News, Smoalnsky called her return “a major step toward a democratic transition and free, fair, and verifiable presidential elections in the near future.”
Edmundo González, who ran as the opposition presidential candidate in 2024 after officials barred Machado from seeking office, confirmed her arrival from Spain. González wrote on social media that Machado’s return marked an important day for Venezuela, adding that he planned to travel to the country to stand beside her very soon.
Stalled elections and acting rule
Machado’s return places her in direct opposition to the political setup established after U.S. forces captured Maduro in January. Rodríguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president, took over as acting president with backing from the Trump administration.
Rodríguez has stayed in office past the timeframe authorized for her acting presidency, and her administration hasn’t scheduled a date for a presidential vote. While Machado and her allies argue that holding an election is necessary for stable governance, U.S. officials have prioritized economic stabilization first. In September, President Donald Trump stated that it was too early to consider organizing democratic elections in Venezuela. Trump has repeatedly pointed to agreements covering Venezuelan oil production and deals involving American companies as signs of progress with Rodríguez’s government.
A faction of the opposition met with representatives from Rodríguez’s government this month for talks on changes to the country’s Supreme Court and electoral authorities before any future vote. Machado’s political movement didn’t take part in those discussions.
Months in hiding and past travel blocks
Machado, who won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her opposition to Maduro’s government, spent much of 2025 in hiding after authorities briefly detained her following a January 2025 protest. She slipped out of Venezuela in December with help from a private American rescue team to attend the Nobel ceremony in Norway, marking her first public appearance in 11 months.
Since leaving, Machado tried repeatedly to get back into Venezuela. She attempted to return following a pair of earthquakes on June 24, and in September she tried three times in 24 hours to enter by air and sea, but officials turned her away each time. Reuters reported in June that U.S. officials had asked Machado to postpone returning to the country.
Washington’s response and what happens next
Trump addressed Machado’s return when reporters questioned him in Port Huron, Michigan. He said he hadn’t heard about her arrival, though he spoke well of her and noted that she presented her Nobel Peace Prize to him last week.
“I don’t know anything about it, but I think she’s a very nice woman,” Trump said. He added that he hoped she would stay safe and remarked that the United States was doing well in Venezuela.
Machado’s return brings immediate questions about how Rodríguez’s government and the Trump administration will respond. With González saying he will join Machado soon and Machado’s team pressing for a vote, the opposition is pushing for a transition that Washington and Caracas have so far put on hold.
