Caracas, Oct. 27 (DPnet).– Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado has returned to Venezuela after nearly 11 months in exile.
- The Return: Machado arrived back in Venezuela on Sunday, October 25, 2026, traveling through several northern states before making her way into Caracas to a massive crowd of cheering supporters.
- Political Context: Her return challenges the interim government of President Delcy Rodríguez, which maintains complex ties and oil negotiations with Washington.
- Official Reactions: Interim President Rodríguez dismissed Machado's cross-country homecoming as a "show" and state television outlets largely ignored the livestreamed event, yet analysts note that Rodríguez may face pressure to hold talks or navigate a delicate political coexistence.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that Venezuela's interim government told the U.S. "weeks and weeks" earlier that opposition leader Maria Corina Machado could return to the country without interference, as the Trump administration pushes for a political transition that hinges on the cooperation of senior figures from Nicolás Maduro's former government.
"We spoke to the interim authorities and just said, 'Look, our expectation is that she's a Venezuelan. She belongs in her country. That's the country she's from. She should be allowed to return, and she should be allowed to return unperturbed, having no problems,'" Rubio told reporters. "And they told us that she could fly into the airport if she wanted to. And we communicated that to her team."