Machado is back in Venezuela: What it means for elections

María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader who won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, returned to Venezuela on Sunday after about 10 months abroad and several failed attempts to come home. She chose a church as the site of her first public appearance.

"I am here. With you," Machado wrote on X on Sunday, according to the BBC and CNN en Español. Her team confirmed she was in the country but did not say where she had entered or how she got there, CBS News reported.

Her return comes as the opposition presses for an election date, while the government and Washington say other steps must come first.

Where is Machado, and what happened on Sunday?

Machado reappeared at a church in the Santa Rosa area of Barquisimeto, Lara's capital, which the Guardian puts about 220 miles (350 km) west of Caracas. The Divina Pastora, one of Venezuela's most beloved Marian images, is venerated there. The Comando Con Venezuela, her political platform, said she went "to thank the Divina Pastora" for her return, CNN en Español reported.

Dozens of people applauded as she walked into the church, shook her hand and hugged her, the Associated Press reported. "María! María!" someone shouted.

Edmundo González Urrutia, the opposition's 2024 presidential candidate, broke the news on X. "Today is a very important day for Venezuelans," he wrote, according to AP, and said he would join her "very soon."

How did she get back?

That is still not clear. Neither Machado nor her team has said how she entered the country, as Efecto Cocuyo and El Pitazo noted on Sunday.

David Alandete, the Washington correspondent for Spain's ABC newspaper, reported that the return followed weeks of diplomatic work involving several countries in the region. He reported that the US knew of the plans and did not object, and that the crossing took place through Colombia this weekend. NewsCubby has not independently confirmed ABC's account, and neither Machado's team nor any government has confirmed it.

Asked about the return on Sunday, President Donald Trump said he knew nothing about it. "I think she's a very nice woman. She gave me her Nobel Prize," Trump told reporters, according to AP, adding that he hoped she was safe.

Asked whether the US played a role, the State Department pointed CNN to earlier remarks by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had said Machado "has every right to enter her country whenever she wants to return."

On Sunday, Rubio also wrote on X that "the conditions allowing for the safe return of Ms. Machado" were "the direct result of the U.S. supported reconciliation talks." He said the talks had freed hundreds of political prisoners and brought hundreds of opposition figures back from exile. "The United States expects the freedoms of all sectors of Venezuelan politics to continue to be respected," he wrote, adding that Washington expects all political actors to support the talks. Machado and her party have not been included in those talks, CNN en Español noted. Rubio did not say how she entered the country.

Dinorah Figuera, who leads the opposition delegation in the talks, welcomed the return on X. "This is a direct result of January 3 and of the strength of the dialogue," she wrote, referring to the date of Maduro's capture.

Why couldn't she come home sooner?

Machado spent much of 2025 in hiding inside Venezuela after the disputed 2024 election. She was briefly detained in January 2025, AP reported. On Dec. 9, 2025, she left the country in secret to travel to Oslo, Tal Cual and El Diario reported.

Her party says she made seven unsuccessful attempts, AP reported. ABC put the number at up to eight between June and September. In September, her spokesman David Smolansky said she tried three times in 24 hours, by air and by sea, CBS News reported.

Opposition activists accused the government of blocking her. Venezuelan authorities denied it, AP reported. On Oct. 15, Diosdado Cabello, secretary general of the ruling PSUV party, said on his TV program "Con el Mazo Dando" that "nobody" was stopping her, El Nacional reported. "Why doesn't she come?" Cabello asked.

AP reported that Trump administration officials denied holding her back but said they had at times advised her not to return because of safety concerns.

What does the government say?

Before Sunday, the government's position had been on the record for months. In February, National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez, the acting president's brother, told Newsmax that the government would make it easier for opposition figures abroad to return "as long as they comply with the law" and have not promoted violence, El Universal reported. He accused what he called extremist sectors of calling for an invasion of the country.

The government considers Machado a fugitive and accuses her of calling for military intervention against Venezuela, CBS News reported. In January 2025, then-Attorney General Tarek William Saab said she faced a criminal case for alleged treason, conspiracy with foreign countries and criminal association, El Pitazo reported. Machado has denied earlier government accusations of fraud and tax violations, calling them politically motivated, the BBC reported.

CNN en Español said it had asked the Venezuelan government for comment on Sunday. NewsCubby had not seen a statement from Rodríguez, Cabello or the Foreign Ministry as of 3:25 p.m. ET Sunday, when this story was published, and Euronews reported that Rodríguez had not reacted publicly.

What does her return mean for Venezuelans at home?

Vente Venezuela said in a statement, quoted by Tal Cual, that her arrival "heralds the reunion of all the families" who will soon be together again in the country.

Other opposition figures welcomed her. Juan Pablo Guanipa said that, with Machado on the ground, the opposition must keep fighting for the release of all political prisoners and demand "an electoral timetable soon," CNN en Español reported. Delsa Solórzano, president of Encuentro Ciudadano, said she would keep working for a Venezuela "where we can all embrace in freedom," El Diario reported.

The June 24 earthquakes killed more than 6,100 people, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). US officials say economic stabilization must come before a vote, according to AP. Foro Penal counted 322 political prisoners as of Oct. 5, according to figures reported by Infobae.

What does it mean for Venezuelans abroad?

Vente Venezuela's message about reuniting families also speaks to Venezuelans who have left the country and to families split between home and abroad.

In Doral, Florida, more than 40% of residents are of Venezuelan origin, the BBC reported in January. Crowds there celebrated Maduro's capture at El Arepazo restaurant. On Saturday, CBS News reported that some of that joy had turned to frustration. One naturalized citizen who celebrated Maduro's capture told CBS she now feels "disappointed" and "betrayed" by the administration's immigration crackdown.

US politicians from Florida reacted quickly. Rep. Carlos Giménez, a Miami-area Republican, said on X that Delcy Rodríguez, Jorge Rodríguez, Cabello and two other senior officials would be responsible for her safety, Versión Final reported.

What's the path to elections?

After Maduro was removed, Venezuela's Supreme Court said Rodríguez could serve as acting president for 90 days, with one possible 90-day extension by the National Assembly, AP reported. The ruling-party-controlled assembly never voted to extend it, and she has stayed in office.

In September, Rodríguez told the UN General Assembly that "there will be elections in Venezuela" and that the people would decide "the right moment," the BBC reported. Rubio has said Venezuela must first stabilize its economy and rebuild institutions, including its courts and electoral council.

Formal talks started Aug. 6. Jorge Rodríguez leads the government side, and Figuera, who heads the opposition-elected 2015 National Assembly, leads the other. Machado and González are not taking part, the CRS reported. Figuera has proposed an election in late 2027 or early 2028, after the voter registry is cleaned up and new Supreme Court and electoral council members are named, Infobae reported. A report on the electoral system is expected in December.

Machado's side wants a faster schedule. Supporters marched in Caracas on Oct. 22, the anniversary of the 2023 opposition primary, to demand an election date. Vente Venezuela backs July 24, 2027, Infobae reported. Machado has said she would run if an election were held, according to the BBC.

The last vote still hangs over the debate. Machado won the 2023 primary with more than 90% of the vote, but the government barred her from running, the BBC reported. In 2024, the National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner without publishing detailed results. The opposition posted copies of tally sheets that it says show González won, and AP described the evidence that he won by more than 2-to-1 as "ample" and "credible."

What we know

- Machado said she is in Venezuela, and her team and González confirmed it. - She appeared at a church in Santa Rosa, Barquisimeto, Lara state, where the Divina Pastora is venerated. - Trump said he knew nothing about the return. - Rodríguez remains acting president past the initial 90 days set by the court; the assembly never extended her term, and no election date has been set.

What we don't know yet

- How and where she entered Venezuela, and whether any government helped. ABC's account has not been confirmed. - Whether the authorities will try to enforce the pending criminal case against her. - What the Rodríguez government will say officially. - Where she will go next and whether she will join the talks.

What happens next

Watch for an official government response, any move by prosecutors, Machado's next public appearances, González's travel plans, the next round of talks and the December electoral report. NewsCubby will update this story as officials and her team release new information.

*Credit: reporting from BBC News, CBS News, the Associated Press, the Guardian, CNN en Español, El Pitazo, Efecto Cocuyo, Tal Cual, El Nacional, El Universal, El Diario, Infobae, ABC (Spain), Versión Final, EFE, USA Today, Diario Las Américas, Euronews and the Congressional Research Service, plus posts on X by María Corina Machado, Edmundo González Urrutia, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Dinorah Figuera. NewsCubby articles are AI-assisted and reviewed by people.*