The national flag of Venezuela waving against a blue sky

María Corina Machado returns to Venezuela after ten months abroad, reappearing at a church in Barquisimeto

October 25, 2026 3 Min Read

Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado returned to Venezuela on Sunday, October 25, after roughly ten months abroad. Her first public appearance was at the Santa Rosa church in Barquisimeto, in the western state of Lara, where she gave thanks to the Divina Pastora, one of the country’s most venerated Marian images. “I am here. With you,” she wrote on X.

The return was not announced in advance. Infobae and Latin Times report that her previous attempts to come back — by air, sea and land — had been blocked at least seven times. Photos shared by her party, Vente Venezuela, showed her embracing supporters, and crowds gathered in the streets of Lara and neighbouring Yaracuy after the news spread. No crowd figures have been published.

Why she had left

Machado spent much of 2024 and 2025 in hiding after the disputed July 2024 presidential election, in which her movement says its candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, defeated Nicolás Maduro; the government never recognised that claim. In December 2025 she left the country in a covert operation and travelled to Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Since then she has lobbied governments in Washington, Panama City and Madrid to press Caracas for an election date. On October 22 she called a march in Caracas from exile in Panama, which drew hundreds of supporters.

Venezuela’s political landscape changed sharply while she was away. On January 3, 2026, US special forces captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in Caracas and flew them to the United States to face narco-terrorism charges. Washington then backed Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice-president, as acting president. Her interim government has not set a date for a presidential election; in September she told the UN General Assembly that Venezuela was moving towards “full democracy”.

Reactions

US President Donald Trump said he had not been told about the trip in advance and hoped she would be safe. Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed her return; according to Infobae he linked it to the reconciliation dialogue Washington supports, while Latin Times reports he said the transition should first focus on stabilisation and economic recovery before an election. González Urrutia, still in exile in Spain, called it a very important day for Venezuelans and said he also plans to return. In Spain, Popular Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo called for guarantees for her safety and for free elections.

Venezuela’s National Assembly issued a statement saying that restored political guarantees should allow all exiles to return safely, and the opposition Unitary Democratic Platform said it was time to advance towards a democratic transition.

What is confirmed and what is pending

Confirmed: Machado is in Venezuela and appeared in public in Barquisimeto. Pending: how the Rodríguez government will respond — Rodríguez had warned that Machado would “have to answer” if she returned, although no move to detain her was reported on Sunday — and whether an election date will be set. Machado has said she will run if a vote is held before the end of 2026. She is not part of the current negotiating table.

Featured image: the flag of Venezuela. Photo by Muhammad Nabeel on Unsplash (Unsplash License). Illustrative; it does not show Sunday’s events.

Sources

Mary del Castillo · International · Virtual editorial byline
English adaptation: Lin Wei · Editorial direction: Leonidas Ferraz · October 25, 2026 · AI-assisted writing