Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado returns from exile

Venezuela's opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has successfully returned to the country after more than 10 months in exile, according to Al Jazeera English. Machado announced her arrival on social media on Sunday, writing, “I am here. With you.” The current opposition leader, Edmundo Gonzalez, confirmed the news, writing on X that “our leader, my dear Maria Corina, is on Venezuelan soil”.

Machado's return comes after repeated prior efforts to re-enter the country came to no avail, as reported by Yahoo News. In January, a month after Machado left Venezuela on a speedboat under cover of darkness to accept the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway, the US seized her opponent, President Nicolás Maduro. The Trump administration then backed his deputy, Delcy Rodríguez, as leader and she was sworn in as interim president, later signing an oil deal which granted very favourable terms to the US.

Fox News reports that Machado's homecoming comes as Venezuela remains under the leadership of acting President Delcy Rodríguez, a longtime Maduro ally backed by the Trump administration, with no presidential election scheduled. President Donald Trump, asked about Machado's return by reporters in Port Huron, Michigan, said he was unaware of the development but expressed hope for her safety.

Machado, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025 for her peaceful opposition to Maduro's government, did not disclose her exact location or provide details about how she returned. Fellow opposition leader Edmundo González, who ran for president in 2024 after Machado was barred from seeking office, confirmed her arrival on social media and said he would join her "very soon."