CARACAS - Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado returned to Caracas in a surprise move that could pose the biggest test yet to acting President Delcy Rodriguez’s political opening and the Trump administration’s strategy for post-Maduro Venezuela.
“I’m here, with you,” Machado posted on X on Oct 25, confirming her return after months abroad. She gave no details on how she entered Venezuela or her whereabouts.
Machado also thanked President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for their support, signalling an effort to underscore her ties with Washington even as her return risks complicating the administration’s Venezuela strategy.
Trump, speaking to reporters as he left the White House, said he didn’t know about Machado’s return.
The move confronts Rodriguez with a difficult choice over how much political space to give her most formidable rival.
Her government has allowed politicians, activists and journalists who spent years in exile to return, including some of Machado’s closest allies.
Allowing Machado to organise and campaign freely would mark the most consequential expansion yet of that opening.
Detaining her or restricting her activities, meanwhile, could put pressure on Washington to respond.
An official from Venezuela’s Information Ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Machado had a 61% positive rating in the latest AtlasIntel survey for Bloomberg News. The same poll showed her leading Rodriguez 52% to 19% in a hypothetical presidential election.
Washington has prioritised economic stability and rebuilding Venezuela’s oil industry alongside a gradual political transition, while relying on Rodriguez to maintain order and negotiate changes to the country’s political institutions.
The approach has culminated in a major energy agreement giving the US access to as much as 65 billion barrels of Venezuela’s crude reserves.
Meanwhile, the political process has largely advanced without Machado. US-backed talks between Rodriguez’s government and a faction of the opposition ended their latest round this week with agreements to begin reviewing laws governing political disqualifications, political parties and public demonstrations, among other measures.
Opposition negotiator Dinorah Figuera also met Rodriguez at the Miraflores presidential palace following the talks, a striking image of engagement between the government and some of its political opponents even as Machado remained outside the process.
Machado had been signalling that her return was imminent. In a recent interview with the New York Times, she suggested she intended to mobilise Venezuelans ahead of future elections.
She has also criticised parts of Washington’s transition strategy, including the energy deal with controversial businessman Alejandro Betancourt, potentially complicating an agreement that has become central to the administration’s plans for Venezuela.
The timing may also be significant. She is returning less than two weeks before US midterm elections that could shift control of Congress and subject the administration’s Venezuela policy to greater scrutiny.
Machado’s arrival follows fresh opposition protests in several Venezuelan cities demanding a presidential election date.
The authorities briefly detained at least seven people and blocked a route ahead of demonstrations in Caracas, testing the limits of the government’s political opening.
Machado went into hiding shortly after the disputed 2024 presidential election, saying she feared for her life as Nicolas Maduro’s government targeted opposition leaders.
She eventually left Venezuela late in 2025 in a clandestine operation to collect her Nobel Peace Prize. BLOOMBERG