Machado returns to Venezuela after months in exile

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado returned to Venezuela on Sunday after spending months in exile in Panama, confirming her arrival with a brief post on X: "I am here. With you."

Anadolu Agency reported that at least seven previous attempts to re-enter the country had been blocked. Fellow opposition figure Edmundo González Urrutia welcomed the return, writing on X that her sovereign voice had returned to lead the political process, and pledging to join her on Venezuelan soil soon to pursue a transition.

David Smolansky, a senior adviser to Machado, called the return a major step toward a democratic transition and free, fair, and verifiable presidential elections in the near future. Smolansky thanked President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the US Government, Congress, and allied governments for their continued support.

Machado heads the Vente Venezuela movement and received the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. Her longtime rival, former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, remains in Venezuela. Since the disputed 2024 presidential election, the US has been working with the acting Venezuelan government toward political reconciliation.

Asked by reporters about Machado's return, Trump said he was unaware of it but added: "I hope she's safe."