Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado returns from exile

Maria Corina Machado returned to Venezuela on October 25 after more than 10 months in exile, announcing her arrival on social media. Opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez confirmed she was back on Venezuelan soil, and footage showed supporters greeting her at a church in Lara state. Machado had disappeared from public life after a brief arrest in January 2025 and resurfaced in Norway that December, where she received the Nobel Peace Prize for challenging President Nicolas Maduro. Since Maduro’s removal in January 2026, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has served as acting president but has not called the elections she promised.