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Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado returned home on Sunday after nearly a year in exile, drawing jubilant crowds in a move that challenges the US-backed interim government.
Thousands of supporters lined highways, toll plazas and streets, waving Venezuelan flags and chanting “Liberty!” as Machado travelled towards Caracas in a convoy of cars and motorbikes.
In Guacara, AFP reporters saw Machado singing the national anthem as supporters packed a plaza, cheering her return and waving flags. Wearing her trademark white T-shirt and blue jeans, she waved to the crowds through the sunroof of a vehicle.
“Maria, if you come back, my daughter has to come back!” one woman shouted, referring to the millions of Venezuelans who have fled political repression and economic hardship.
Machado’s return puts the country’s most prominent opposition figure back at the centre of its turbulent political landscape.
She left Venezuela last December to receive the Nobel Peace Prize after spending nearly a year in hiding. According to sources in her party, the 59-year-old had made at least seven unsuccessful attempts to return since then.
On Sunday, she appeared at Santa Rosa Church in the western city of Barquisimeto, where supporters greeted her with chants of “Viva Maria Corina!” Two Venezuelan exiles told AFP she had entered the country from neighbouring Colombia, although Colombian authorities did not immediately confirm the account.
Her return comes after a major political shift in Venezuela. Nine months ago, President Nicolas Maduro was captured in a US military operation and imprisoned in the United States. His deputy, Delcy Rodriguez, subsequently took over as interim president with Washington’s backing, disappointing the democratic opposition.
Machado had been watching from exile in Panama as US-backed negotiations on a political transition proceeded without her. The interim government has promised elections but has yet to announce a date.
Machado has repeatedly praised US President Donald Trump for the operation that led to Maduro’s capture and even gave him her Nobel medal.
Asked about her return on Sunday, Trump said he was unaware of it but described Machado as “a very nice woman”, adding, “She gave me her Nobel prize, so how can I say anything else?”
“We’re doing very well in Venezuela,” he said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington-backed negotiations had made Machado’s return possible and urged her to support the process.
“We expect all political actors to support these talks which represent the best chance Venezuela has had in thirty years to peacefully achieve not just a free and fair election but an enduring democracy,” Rubio said.
Last week, thousands of people demonstrated in Caracas and other cities, demanding Machado’s return and fresh elections.
Several leaders of her Vente Venezuela party have recently returned from exile following a post-election crackdown that left 28 people dead and led to more than 2,400 arrests, including dozens of Machado’s associates.
The party is seeking elections in 2027 and wants Machado to be allowed to contest them, unlike in the previous presidential election.
Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, but its current crude production of around one million barrels per day remains well below the three million barrels it averaged decades ago, amid years of corruption and mismanagement.
Rodriguez has granted Washington access to a substantial share of the country’s crude oil reserves and signed agreements with foreign companies to explore, produce and export oil and gas.
