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Maria Corina Machado, Venezuela's opposition leader and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, made a surprise return home on Sunday after nearly a year in exile, drawing jubilant crowds in a direct challenge to the U.S.-backed interim government.
Machado returned to Venezuela on Sunday after spending months in exile in Panama.
“I am here. With you,” Machado wrote on social media platform X, confirming her return after at least seven reported attempts to re-enter the country were blocked.
Fellow opposition figure Edmundo Gonzalez welcomed her return, writing on X that "our sovereign voice returns with her to lead and guide this process" and pledging to join her on Venezuelan soil soon to pursue a political transition.
David Smolansky, a senior adviser to Machado, said the return is "a major step toward a democratic transition and free, fair, and verifiable presidential elections in the near future."
"We thank President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the U.S. Government, Congress, and allied governments for their continued leadership and support," he said in a statement.
Asked by reporters about Machado's return, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was not aware of it, but added: "I hope she's safe."
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the conditions permitting Machado's safe return are the "direct result of the U.S. supported reconciliation talks," which, he claimed, have led to the release of "hundreds of political prisoners" and allowed exiled figures to return.
Emphasizing that Washington expects the freedoms of all political sectors "to continue to be respected," Rubio urged all domestic factions to back the dialogue, calling the negotiations the "best chance Venezuela has had in thirty years."
Thousands of people lined highways, toll plazas and city streets waving Venezuelan flags and chanting "Liberty!" as Machado entered Caracas in a convoy of cars and motorbikes.
Wearing her trademark white T-shirt and blue jeans, she leaned through the sunroof of a vehicle to wave to the crowds and shake hands with her supporters.
In Guacara earlier, Agence France-Presse (AFP) witnessed Machado singing the national anthem as supporters packed out a plaza, waving flags and cheering her return.
A woman shouted, "Maria, if you come back, my daughter has to come back!" referring to one of the millions of Venezuelans who have fled repression and a moribund economy.
Her return puts Venezuela's most influential opposition figure back at the center of the country's tumultuous politics.
Machado slipped out of the country last December to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, after spending nearly a year in hiding.
Since then, the 59-year-old has made at least seven unsuccessful attempts to return to Venezuela, according to sources in her party.
She finally reappeared Sunday at the 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 neighboring Colombia, although Colombian authorities did not immediately confirm that account.
She returns to a country much changed; nine months ago her nemesis president Nicolas Maduro was captured in a U.S. military operation and jailed in the United States.
But to the democratic opposition's dismay, his deputy Delcy Rodriguez took over as interim president, with Washington's blessing.
Since then, the Nobel laureate had been forced to watch from exile in Panama as U.S.-backed talks on a political transition took place without her.
The interim government has promised elections, but so far has not set a date.
Machado has repeatedly praised Trump for launching the risky operation, and even gifted him the Nobel medal she received.
Trump has repeatedly expressed satisfaction with Rodriguez as she fulfills key U.S. demands, particularly on granting access to Venezuelan oil.
Trump said Sunday he was not aware of Machado's return, adding: "But I think she's a very nice woman. She gave me her Nobel prize, so how can I say anything else?"
"We're doing very well in Venezuela," he said.
Rubio insisted Machado's return had been made possible by the Washington-backed talks, and he urged her to support them going forward.
"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," he said.
Last week, thousands demonstrated in Caracas and other cities, demanding Machado's return and elections.
Many leaders from her Vente Venezuela party have recently returned from exile that was prompted by a post-election purge that left 28 dead and resulted in more than 2,400 arrests, including dozens of Machado's associates.
Her party wants elections in 2027 and for her to be allowed to run, unlike the last presidential vote.
Venezuela sits on the world's largest proven oil reserves, but its current production of 1 million barrels of crude per day falls far short of the 3 million it averaged decades ago, due to years of corruption and poor management.
Rodriguez has granted Washington access to a huge chunk of the country's crude reserves and signed agreements with foreign companies to look for, produce and export oil and gas.
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