Venezuela Opposition Leader Maria Machado Announces Return To Country

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado said Sunday she has returned to her home country after nearly a year in exile.

"I am here. With you," Machado wrote in a short post in Spanish on X.

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Her ally, exiled presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, quickly reposted the message and said: "Venezuela! I am thrilled to announce to you that our leader, my dear Maria Corina, is on Venezuelan soil."

"Today is a very important day for Venezuelans. Our sovereign voice returns with her to lead and guide this process! Very soon I will be with you and with her so that our country truly advances toward freedom," he added.

Machado has been in exile since covertly leaving her South American homeland in late 2025 to receive her Nobel Peace Prize. According to Machado's party, she has tried at least seven times to return but has been blocked by Venezuelan authorities.

The month after she fled Venezuela, US forces seized the country's longtime leader Nicolas Maduro and flew him to New York to face criminal charges.

Machado has heaped praise on US President Donald Trump for launching the risky operation, though Washington has allowed Maduro's deputy, Delcy Rodriguez, to rule as interim president.

Many observers believed Washington played a role in blocking Machado's return, given Trump's repeated expressions of satisfaction with Rodriguez.

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