After spending ten months outside her country, which she had been unable to return to because of obstacles imposed by the regime, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado returned to Venezuela this Sunday, October 25.
Machado informed Venezuelans through a brief message on the social media platform X: “I am here. With you,” she wrote, without providing details about how she returned or the exact location where she was staying. It was later learned that she had arrived in Barquisimeto, the capital of Lara state.
Edmundo Gonzalez Confirms Machado’s Return
The news was also confirmed by the country’s president-elect, Edmundo Gonzalez, who expressed his excitement over Machado’s return and highlighted her presence once again on Venezuelan territory.
“Venezuela! I am extremely excited to announce to you that our leader, my dear Maria Corina, is on Venezuelan territory,” he wrote on the same social network.
“Today is a very important day for Venezuelans,” added the winner of the July 28, 2024, elections. “Our sovereign voice returns with her to lead and guide this process. Very soon I will be with you and with her so that our country can truly move toward freedom. You know it, this goes all the way to the end.”
U.S. Republican Representative Carlos A. Gimenez issued a warning: “I want to make this very clear. […] I hold Delcy and Jorge Rodriguez, Diosdado Cabello, Padrino Lopez and Gonzalez Lopez directly responsible for any harm that Maria Corina Machado may suffer. If they continue with the threats, they will end up pulverized like the Castro regime’s henchmen who protected Maduro. They already have the example. Understood?”
Republican Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar also addressed a few words to the Venezuelan opposition leader. “Dear Maria Corina: today you return to the country for which you have risked everything. I have witnessed your courage and determination, and I am honored to have accompanied you in this struggle.”
“Your return marks an important moment,” Salazar adds. “Democratic forces are organizing, new voices are rising, and the country is beginning a new stage. Now, Venezuelans must decide what kind of country they want and who they want to lead it. May God bless you, protect you, and guide Venezuela toward the freedom its people deserve.”
Machado had left Venezuela on December 9, 2025, amid a clandestine operation that allowed her to travel to Europe to attend the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony in Oslo, Norway.
Machado’s departure from Venezuela took place after she had spent nearly 16 months in hiding, in a context marked by intensified political persecution and government harassment following the 2024 presidential elections.
Since then, she had remained outside the country while continuing her political activities and making statements about the situation in Venezuela.
Machado’s Return Shakes Up the Political Landscape
Her return marks a new chapter in the public activity of the opposition leader, who has played a central role within the Venezuelan opposition. Confirmation of her arrival prompted reactions among her supporters and political figures, particularly because it marked her return after leaving the country in December 2025.
David Alandete, a journalist with the Spanish newspaper ABC, revealed on his X account that Machado had managed to return to her country thanks to the support of several governments. “Maria Corina Machado is already in Venezuela and will reappear in a few minutes at the sanctuary of the Divina Pastora, in Barquisimeto,” he wrote.
“Her return has been made possible thanks to a diplomatic operation involving several countries and carried out with the knowledge of the United States,” Alandete added in his message. “Two weeks ago, I asked Trump about her return, and he told me that everything was going to turn out well. The plan was already underway. Without Washington’s approval, this operation would not have been possible.”
Machado’s return comes just days after delegations from Chavismo and a sector of the opposition concluded the third round of negotiations, in which they agreed to review laws that restrict political rights, among other issues. Machado has been excluded from those negotiations.
Earlier this week, Machado’s supporters, organized in the Vente Venezuela movement led by Machado, held demonstrations in various cities across the country to demand that a date for presidential elections be set soon.
The day of demonstrations was scheduled to coincide with the third anniversary of Maria Corina Machado’s victory in the opposition primaries held in 2023. Machado won that internal contest with around 90% of the vote, but was unable to register as a candidate for the 2024 elections because Nicolas Maduro’s regime disqualified her.