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Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Laureate María Corina Machado is back in her home country after nearly a year in exile, her team confirmed to CBS News on Sunday.
“I’m here. With you,” Machado posted in Spanish on X.
Later Sunday night, she posted in Spanish: “Finally, Caracas, I’m here!!” along with video of supporters cheering their arrival.
Machado’s senior adviser David Smoalnsky said in a statement to CBS that her return is “a major step toward a democratic transition and free, fair and verifiable presidential elections in the near future.”
“Machado returns to stand with Venezuelans in their pursuit of freedom, democracy and justice, and to help lead a peaceful, inclusive and sustainable transition leading to free, fair and verifiable presidential elections, with guarantees for all,” he said, thanking President Trump, the US government and others for “their continued leadership and support.”
Machado secretly escaped from the South American country in December with a private US rescue team 2025 Nobel Peace Prize in Norwayher first public appearance in 11 months. The event was a month before the US military deposed the country’s then president, Nicolás Maduro.
Machado, who was barred from leaving Venezuela by Maduro’s government, is considered a fugitive by the Venezuelan government, which it accuses of calling for military intervention against the country.
Edmundo Gonzalez, a former presidential candidate for the Machado movement who lived in Spain, confirmed her return in his own social media post and said he would be by her side “very soon.”
“Today is a very important day for Venezuelans. Our sovereign voice returns with her to lead and guide this process!” he wrote “You know, this is to the end.”
Following the news of her arrival, Machado was seen at a church in the state of Lara, west of Caracas. Dozens of supporters shook her hand and hugged her, holding cellphones aloft to record her return, the Associated Press reported.
“Mary! Mary!” one shouted as another shouted, “Welcome to Venezuela!”
“Long live freedom, dammit!” shouted a man.
One woman wiped away tears and called it “a miracle,” while another woman put her hands to her face when she saw Machado enter the church.
Photo: Ariana Cubillos/AP
Asked by reporters Sunday about Machado’s return to Venezuela, President Trump said: “I don’t know anything about it, but I think she’s a very nice woman. She gave me her Nobel Prize. So how can I say otherwise? And I hope she’s safe. She’s a very nice woman. But we’re doing really well in Venezuela.”
Ax done several failed attempts to return to their home country, including during the aftermath of the devastating June 24 double earthquakes.
In September, the opposition leader was denied entry to Venezuela three times over 24 hours, Smoalnsky said in a statement with CBS News’ Margaret Brennan and other journalists.
“She tried to reach the country by air and sea, but was turned away each time,” he said at the time.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that the conditions allowing Machado’s return to Venezuelan soil are “the direct result of the United States supporting reconciliation talks”.
“The United States expects the freedoms of all sectors of Venezuelan politics to continue to be respected,” he wrote on X. “Also, we expect all political actors to support these talks, which represent the best chance Venezuela has had in thirty years to peacefully achieve not only a free and fair election, but a lasting democracy.”
Machado’s return home comes as doubts about Venezuela’s democratic future — and the United States’ role in it — deepen.
Since Maduro’s ouster, Venezuela has been led by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, a longtime Maduro ally who received the Trump administration’s blessing to succeed him.
Rodríguez has exceeded the time she was authorized to serve as acting president following Maduro’s capture and no elections are scheduled.
Machado and her allies have demanded a date for presidential elections in Venezuela, but US officials have emphasized economic stabilization first.
