'I am here, with you': Maria Corina Machado returns to Venezuela after nearly a year in exile

Guacara: Maria Corina Machado, Venezuela's prominent opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, returned to her homeland on Sunday following nearly a year in exile, presenting a direct political challenge to the U.S.-backed interim administration.

Dressed in her characteristic white T-shirt and blue jeans, Machado greeted crowds of cheering supporters across towns along the highway leading into Caracas.

In Guacara, AFP reporters witnessed Machado standing atop a vehicle singing the national anthem as thousands lined the thoroughfares shouting "Liberty!"

Her return places Venezuela's most prominent opposition figure back into the center of a national transition process from which she had been largely excluded, while interim President Delcy Rodriguez and a faction of the opposition pursue Washington-backed negotiations regarding the country's political trajectory.

Machado's arrival occurs nine months after Nicolas Maduro was captured during a U.S. military operation, which led to Rodriguez assuming office as interim president.

"I am here. With you," Machado stated in a post on X.

Two Venezuelan exiles informed AFP that she crossed into the country overland via Colombia, though Colombian authorities did not immediately confirm the account.

The 59-year-old leader had attempted to re-enter Venezuela on at least seven previous occasions without success, according to sources within her Vente Venezuela party.

Machado had departed the country in December to accept the Nobel Peace Prize after spending almost a year in hiding following a wave of arrests that ensued after Maduro's disputed 2024 re-election.

While Venezuelan electoral authorities declared Maduro the winner of that contest, they failed to publish detailed tally sheets, whereas the opposition maintained that their vote tallies demonstrated a victory for Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.

Departing a church service on Sunday in the bed of a pickup truck, Machado was met by supporters running alongside to reach for her hand.

One woman called out, "Maria, if you come back, my daughter has to come back," referencing the millions of citizens who have left the country in pursuit of economic stability.

Machado has repeatedly commended U.S. President Donald Trump for executing the high-risk operation that removed Maduro, even presenting him with the Nobel medal she was awarded.

Asked by reporters on Sunday regarding Machado's return, Trump remarked, "I don't know anything about it, but I think she's a very nice woman. She gave me her Nobel prize, so how can I say anything else?"

"We're doing very well in Venezuela," he added.

Trump has consistently voiced approval of Rodriguez, who previously served as Maduro's vice-president, as her administration meets U.S. objectives, particularly concerning access to Venezuelan energy reserves.

The interim administration has conducted several negotiation rounds with an opposition bloc, though a firm schedule for upcoming national elections has yet to be finalized.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Machado's return was made possible through Washington-supported dialogue, calling on her to endorse the ongoing negotiations moving forward.

"We expect all political actors to support these talks which represent the best chance Venezuela has had in thirty years to peacefully achieve not just a free and fair election but an enduring democracy," Rubio stated.

Although Machado had been excluded from the formal talks, the participating opposition delegation welcomed her return "in freedom."

Last week, thousands of demonstrators gathered across Caracas and other urban centers to demand her return, holding placards calling for fresh elections and expressing solidarity with Machado.

Numerous officials from the Vente Venezuela party have recently returned from exile prompted by a post-election crackdown that left 28 individuals dead and resulted in over 2,400 detentions, including key Machado aides.

Her political party is advocating for presidential elections to be held in 2027 and for Machado to be permitted to stand as a candidate, unlike during the prior election cycle.

Venezuela possesses the world's largest proven oil reserves; however, its current output of one million barrels of crude daily remains significantly below the three million barrels daily it produced decades ago, following years of mismanagement and systemic corruption.

Rodriguez has granted Washington access to substantial portions of the nation's crude reserves while executing agreements with foreign energy corporations to explore, extract, and export oil and natural gas.

AFP