Isophoric News · Tuesday, October 27, 2026
Opposition leader María Corina Machado says she has returned to Venezuela after almost a year abroad
Machado, 59, wrote on X on Sunday, "I am here. With you," announcing her return nearly a year after she left to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, according to the BBC, France 24 and the Guardian. Her ally Edmundo González, who is in exile, confirmed her arrival, and the Guardian reported that footage on social media showed her at a church in Barquisimeto, in Lara state, before she set out by convoy toward Caracas; the Guardian said it was not immediately clear how she had returned. Machado's party said she had tried at least seven times to return and was blocked by Venezuelan authorities, France 24 and Euronews reported. Euronews and the BBC reported that some had believed the United States played a part in delaying her return, which US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied. Rubio wrote on X on Sunday that the conditions allowing her safe return were "the direct result of the US supported reconciliation talks," the BBC reported. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez had not immediately reacted, according to Euronews. President Trump told reporters he knew nothing about the return, said Machado was "a very nice woman" and said he hoped she was safe, according to the BBC and the Guardian. Machado has called for a presidential election by July 2027, the Guardian reported, while France 24 reported that no election is scheduled and that US officials have emphasized economic stabilization first. A Machado spokesman, David Smolansky, called the return "a major step toward a democratic transition," the BBC reported.
