Machado returns to Venezuela to cheers, with election date still unset

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado appeared in the country on Sunday 25 October for the first time since December, drawing supporters to a church in Lara state before travelling by road to Caracas. Her return puts a leading campaigner for a presidential vote back in Venezuela, although the interim government has not set an election date.

People applauded and embraced Machado as she entered the church in Santa Rosa, the Associated Press reported. A Reuters witness saw bystanders sing the national anthem as she left. Machado announced her return on X with the words, “I am here. With you,” according to the BBC and AP.

Crowds gathered along her route to the capital. AFP saw Machado singing the national anthem with supporters in Guacara, and AP reported that she arrived in Caracas late on Sunday. The accounts describe thousands of supporters across different locations, without a single count for the journey.

Machado left Venezuela last December to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway after spending months in hiding. She had been barred from standing against Nicolás Maduro in the disputed 2024 presidential election. The US captured Maduro in January, and his former deputy Delcy Rodríguez took over as interim president with Washington’s support.

The Democratic Unitary Platform renewed its backing for Machado a week before her return, calling for a presidential election as soon as possible. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US-backed reconciliation talks had enabled her safe return. Reuters reported that talks this month between Rodríguez’s government and some opposition figures had not included Machado’s political movement.

Machado’s adviser David Smolansky told Reuters she would press for a date for free and fair elections. Rodríguez has promised elections, but has not said when they will take place.