Venezuela’s opposition leader Machado returns after months in exile, as doubts over democracy deepen

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Opposition leader and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado reappeared in Venezuela Sunday for the first time since December, about a month before the U.S. military deposed the country’s then-President Nicolás Maduro.

Machado announced her arrival on social media, writing “I am here. With you.”

Meanwhile, Venezuela’s opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez wrote on X confirming that Machado had arrived and that he would be next to her “very soon.”

“Today is a very important day for Venezuelans. Our sovereign voice returns with her to lead and guide this process!” he wrote. “You know it, this is until the end.”

Machado’s homecoming after more than 10 months in exile took place as doubts over Venezuela’s democratic future — and the U.S.’s role in it — deepen.

Since Maduro’s ouster, Venezuela has been run by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, a longtime Maduro ally who received the Trump administration’s blessing to succeed him.

Rodríguez has exceeded the time she was authorized to serve as acting president following Maduro’s capture and no election is scheduled.

Machado went into hiding in Venezuela for 11 months after being briefly detained following a protest in January 2025. After leaving the country in a clandestine escape, she reappeared that December in Norway, where she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her peaceful challenge to Maduro’s authoritarian government.

Machado and her allies have been demanding a date for a presidential election in Venezuela, but U.S. officials have emphasized economic stabilization first.