Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado returns after months in exile

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has returned to her home country after nearly ten months in exile, according to the BBC, CBS News, Euronews, and The New York Times. Machado announced her arrival on the social media platform X, writing, "I am here. With you." CBS News reported that her team confirmed her return, while her ally Edmundo González Urrutia also confirmed the news shortly after. [1][2][3][4][5]

CBS News and Euronews both report that Machado covertly left Venezuela in December 2025 to accept the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway. CBS News reported that she left the country with a private United States rescue team. Euronews noted that Machado had carried out much of her recent political activity from the United States and Panama following several failed attempts to return to Venezuela. [1][2][3]

The BBC reported that in January, a month after Machado left the country, the United States government seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The Trump administration then supported Delcy Rodríguez as leader, and she was sworn in as interim president before signing an oil deal with the United States. [1]

María Corina Machado Parisca served as a member of the National Assembly of Venezuela from 2011 to 2014. As FTMQ News reported earlier, Venezuela's Unitary Democratic Platform opposition alliance reaffirmed Machado as its leader on October 18, 2026, when she proposed holding new presidential elections on July 24, 2027. [6][8]

Machado did not reveal her exact location or the details of how she returned to Venezuela, according to CBS News. Senior adviser David Smolansky told CBS News that her return is a major step toward a democratic transition and free, fair, and verifiable presidential elections. [2]