Venezuelan opposition leader María Machado returns after months in exile
Nobel laureate María Corina Machado has returned to Venezuela after more than ten months outside the country, announcing her arrival in four words: “I am here. With you.”
Nobel laureate María Corina Machado has returned to Venezuela after more than ten months outside the country. She announced her arrival herself on social media, writing simply: “I am here. With you.”
Crowds welcomed her at a church in Barquisimeto, in Lara state, chanting her name. Her ally Edmundo González confirmed she was back on Venezuelan soil and said he would join her soon.
Machado left Venezuela last December to collect her Nobel Peace Prize. A month later, American forces seized President Nicolás Maduro, and interim leader Delcy Rodríguez has since ruled with Washington’s backing.
President Donald Trump said he had not known about Machado’s return and that he hoped she stayed safe, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio described it as the result of United States-supported reconciliation talks. Machado is now home and pushing for free and fair elections.
Reporting based on coverage from BBC News.