Machado Back in Venezuela After Months in Panama Exile
(MENAFN) Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado is back on Venezuelan soil, ending months of exile in Panama, after at least seven reported attempts to re-enter the country were blocked.
She announced her arrival on the US social media platform X. “I am here. With you,” she wrote.
Fellow opposition figure Edmundo Gonzalez welcomed the news on X, writing that “our sovereign voice returns with her to lead and guide this process.” He pledged to join her in Venezuela soon to push for a political transition.
David Smolansky, a senior adviser to Machado, called the return “a major step toward a democratic transition and free, fair, and verifiable presidential elections in the near future.”
“We thank President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the US Government, Congress, and allied governments for their continued leadership and support,” he said in a statement.
Asked about the development by reporters, President Donald Trump said he was unaware of it. “I hope she’s safe.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the conditions for Machado’s safe return are the “direct result of the US supported reconciliation talks,” which he said have led to the release of “hundreds of political prisoners” and allowed exiled figures to come home. He said Washington expects the freedoms of all political sectors “to continue to be respected,” and urged every domestic faction to support the dialogue, which he described as the “best chance Venezuela has had in thirty years.”
Machado leads the Vente Venezuela movement and won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. She had been in Panama since late May with the support of President Jose Raul Mulino.
Her longtime rival, former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, was captured by US forces in an operation in January. Since then, Washington has worked with the acting Venezuelan government to steer the country toward political reconciliation.
She announced her arrival on the US social media platform X. “I am here. With you,” she wrote.
Fellow opposition figure Edmundo Gonzalez welcomed the news on X, writing that “our sovereign voice returns with her to lead and guide this process.” He pledged to join her in Venezuela soon to push for a political transition.
David Smolansky, a senior adviser to Machado, called the return “a major step toward a democratic transition and free, fair, and verifiable presidential elections in the near future.”
“We thank President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the US Government, Congress, and allied governments for their continued leadership and support,” he said in a statement.
Asked about the development by reporters, President Donald Trump said he was unaware of it. “I hope she’s safe.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the conditions for Machado’s safe return are the “direct result of the US supported reconciliation talks,” which he said have led to the release of “hundreds of political prisoners” and allowed exiled figures to come home. He said Washington expects the freedoms of all political sectors “to continue to be respected,” and urged every domestic faction to support the dialogue, which he described as the “best chance Venezuela has had in thirty years.”
Machado leads the Vente Venezuela movement and won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. She had been in Panama since late May with the support of President Jose Raul Mulino.
Her longtime rival, former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, was captured by US forces in an operation in January. Since then, Washington has worked with the acting Venezuelan government to steer the country toward political reconciliation.
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