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María Corina Machado returns to Venezuela after ten months abroad

The Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate announced her return on Sunday in a post on X, confirmed by Edmundo González Urrutia; the United States attributed it to the reconciliation talks it backs.

María Corina Machado returned to Venezuela on Sunday, October 25, after almost ten months outside the country. “I am here. With you,” she wrote on the social network X. Former presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia confirmed that she was on Venezuelan soil.

A video released by her National Campaign Command showed supporters greeting her at the sanctuary of the Divina Pastora in Barquisimeto, Lara state, according to Martí Noticias. Periódico Cubano noted that early reports about her whereabouts were contradictory: RTVE placed her in Caracas, while the Spanish newspaper ABC pointed to that reappearance in Barquisimeto.

The details of how she entered the country are unknown. According to ABC correspondent David Alandete, cited by Periódico Cubano, the return was made possible by a diplomatic operation involving several countries and known to the United States; Washington has not officially confirmed any involvement.

Machado left Venezuela in December 2025, after more than a year in hiding and despite a travel ban, to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway. According to El País, cited by Periódico Cubano, she tried to return seven times without success.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the conditions allowing her return “are the direct result of the U.S.-backed reconciliation talks, which have already led to the release of hundreds of political prisoners and the return from exile of hundreds of opposition figures.” President Donald Trump told reporters: “I hope she is safe.”

The return comes after Nicolás Maduro left power following the U.S. military operation of January 2026, with Delcy Rodríguez heading an interim government that is negotiating a reorganization of the Supreme Court, a reform of the National Electoral Council and the calling of new elections. Machado has questioned the timetable and proposes presidential elections before July 2027; her movement has been left out of some of those talks, according to Periódico Cubano.

Fellow opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa said the task now is to “keep fighting for the release of all political prisoners and to demand an electoral timetable soon,” according to Martí Noticias.

Sources: Martí Noticias · Periódico Cubano

Data updated: 2026-10-25T20:00:00.000Z

María Corina Machado returns to Venezuela after ten months abroad | Yamacoa Observatory