Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado returns from exile

Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has successfully returned to the country after more than 10 months in exile. Machado announced her arrival on social media on Sunday, writing, “I am here. With you.” The current opposition leader, Edmundo Gonzalez, confirmed the news, writing on X that “our leader, my dear Maria Corina, is on Venezuelan soil”. The Comando Con Venezuela political organisation shared footage of Machado arriving at a church in Lara, where she was greeted by supporters. Machado first disappeared from public life after being briefly arrested in January 2025. She re-emerged last December in Norway, where she won the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to challenge Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro.