Machado returns to Venezuela after nearly a year in exile

Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado returned to the country on Sunday after nearly a year in exile, drawing thousands of supporters into the streets as she traveled to Caracas.

Crowds lined highways, toll plazas and city streets, waving Venezuelan flags and chanting “liberty” as Machado’s convoy of cars and motorcycles approached the capital. Earlier, she appeared at a church in Barquisimeto and sang the national anthem with supporters in Guacara. Machado had made several unsuccessful attempts to return after leaving Venezuela in December to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Machado said she was prepared to meet interim President Delcy Rodríguez. Her spokesperson, Claudia Macero, said Machado was willing to hold transparent, agenda-based talks with Rodríguez or anyone else necessary. Rodríguez previously served as vice president under Nicolás Maduro, who was captured by the U.S. military in January and jailed in the United States. Her interim government has promised elections but has not announced a date.

The European Union welcomed Machado’s return as an opportunity to broaden Venezuela’s political space and urged an inclusive dialogue toward free and fair elections. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington-backed negotiations had helped make the return possible and called on all political actors to support talks between the interim government and opposition groups. Those negotiations currently do not include Machado’s Vente Venezuela movement.