The Nobel laureate’s return comes in the wake of nationwide protests demanding free elections.
Published October 25, 2026
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Colina Machado has safely returned home after more than 10 months in exile.
Machado announced her arrival on social media on Sunday, writing: “I’m here. With you.”
Recommended stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
Current opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez confirmed the news, writing to X: “Our leader, dear Maria Colina, is on Venezuelan soil.”
The political group Commando con Venezuela shared footage of Machado being greeted by supporters as he arrived at a church in Lara.
Machado disappeared from public life after a brief arrest in January 2025. He reappeared in Norway in December last year and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his challenge to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Maduro was abducted by US forces in Caracas in January 2026.
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has since served as acting president with the support of U.S. President Donald Trump, working with the administration on reforming the country and a deal that gives the U.S. control of Venezuela’s more than 65 billion barrels of oil reserves.
call for elections
Rodríguez’s presidential term has been extended far beyond the 90-day term granted to him after Maduro’s ouster. But she has yet to hold an election, despite public demands and despite a promise to do so at the United Nations General Assembly in September. The United States insists the country is not yet ready.
Earlier this week, thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets to demand elections, the first nationwide protests in nearly two years.
Although the opposition is widely believed to have won Venezuela’s disputed 2024 election, President Trump questioned Machado’s leadership in January, claiming he was “not supported or respected in the country.”
During a visit to the White House a few weeks later, Machado presented President Trump with a Nobel Prize medal, saying it was “a recognition of his unique commitment to our freedoms.” American leaders have repeatedly expressed their desire to win the Nobel Peace Prize themselves.
Machado has previously tried unsuccessfully to enter Venezuela. In September, her team announced that she had made seven attempts over the course of a few weeks.
“The conditions that allow Mr. Machado’s safe return to Venezuela are a direct result of the U.S.-backed settlement negotiations, which have already resulted in the release of hundreds of political prisoners and the return of hundreds of members of the political opposition from exile,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on X.
Asked to comment on Machado’s return, President Trump told reporters on Sunday: “I don’t know anything about it, but I think she’s a very nice woman.”
“She gave me the Nobel Prize, so what else can I say? And I hope she’s okay.”
