Machado returns to Venezuela after nearly a year in exile

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said she had returned to Venezuela on Sunday 25 October after nearly a year in exile. Machado announced her arrival on social media, writing, “I'm here. With you all.”

She later appeared at a church in Venezuela's western Lara state, where supporters applauded, sang the national anthem and called for freedom. Machado is the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner.

The return follows an earlier effort to travel through the Dutch Caribbean. In September, Curaçao Civil Aviation Authority director Peter Steinmetz said a private aircraft carrying Machado had been denied landing permission after a request from higher authorities.

Machado returned while Venezuela remains under interim President Delcy Rodríguez. U.S. President Donald Trump has supported cooperation with Rodríguez, while Machado and her supporters have called for a timetable for free and fair presidential elections.