“I’m here, with you!” Machado returns to Venezuela and reignites the fight for freedom

María Corina Machado has announced that she has managed to return to Venezuela, after no fewer than seven failed attempts to do so. “I am here, with you,” was her message on X. “Venezuela! “I am very happy to announce that our leader, my dear María Corina, is on Venezuelan soil,” confirmed Edmundo González Urrutia, the opposition presidential candidate in the elections rigged by Maduro, on X. He added that he hoped to meet her soon to continue what he described as a process towards the country’s freedom. 

“It is time to move towards a democratic transition” was the comment from the opposition bloc, the Piattaforma Unitaria Democratica, which marked the occasion by posting a photo on social media of its leader giving thanks to the Divina Pastora in a church in Lara. Attending Mass was, in fact, the first thing she did. In its message, the Platform called for the strengthening of national unity and urged progress towards a “democratic, peaceful and orderly” transition. It also linked this roadmap to the Trump administration’s three-phase plan: “It is time to join forces, strengthen national unity and move forward with determination towards a democratic, peaceful and orderly transition that will allow Venezuelans to fully regain their rights and freely decide their own future.”

“María Corina Machado is in Venezuela, with her people and on her homeland. Her return reaffirms her commitment to continuing the struggle until freedom, democracy and respect for the sovereign will of the Venezuelan people are achieved,” María Claudia Lopez, María Corina Machado’s spokesperson in Italy, told Il Foglio. “As she herself said: ‘I am here. With you. Let’s keep going until the very end!’ After ten months spent abroad, María Corina Machado has returned to her homeland and to the Venezuelan people. From the Church of Santa Rosa in Lara, she thanked the Divina Pastora for her return. ‘Faith sustains us, hope drives us forward and the conviction that we will achieve freedom keeps us united. Venezuela will be free! Venezuela has never stopped believing in freedom.’ Today, with María Corina Machado back on Venezuelan soil, the hope of millions of Venezuelans who dream of living in a democracy, of being reunited with their families and of building a future in their own country is strengthened. The struggle continues. Our commitment remains unchanged: to ensure that the sovereign will of the Venezuelan people is upheld. Venezuela deserves to be free. And we will continue to fight until we have achieved it.”

On Thursday, Vente Venezuela, María Corina Machado’s party, held large demonstrations across Venezuela, specifically to demand her return, the acceleration of the transition and the release of the remaining political prisoners. The party has also set up a register to facilitate the registration of Venezuelan voters living both inside and outside the country.

María Corina Machado had left Venezuela in December 2025 to travel to Norway, where she was due to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. The official ceremony took place on 10 December, but she arrived in Oslo after that date and so her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, accepted the prize on her behalf. Images circulating on social media now show the leader being embraced by supporters of her party, Vente Venezuela, during a mass and whilst greeting those gathered in the town square. Neither she nor her staff have explained how she returned, stating that they would provide details in the coming hours. David Alandete, a correspondent for the Spanish newspaper ABC, stated that her return was made possible by a diplomatic operation involving several countries, of which the United States was aware. US President Donald Trump said he was unaware of her return but hoped she was safe, according to CNN.

María Corina Machado is returning to a country very different from the one she left. In January, the US military deposed and captured Nicolás Maduro, and since then Delcy Rodríguez, a Maduro ally who enjoyed the approval of the Trump administration, has governed as interim president. Rodríguez’s term has expired and no new elections have been called. Machado and her allies are calling for a date to be set, whilst US officials are prioritising economic stabilisation. The Trump administration largely sidelined her during the transition. In January, Trump described her as “a very kind woman”, but said she lacked “the support or respect within the country” to lead it. Machado had repeatedly stated that she would return and had hinted that she would stand for re-election should elections be held.

On Wednesday, the third round of ongoing negotiations concluded between a regime delegation led by Jorge Rodríguez, President of the National Assembly and brother of Delcy, and an opposition delegation led by Dinorah Figuera, President of the National Assembly elected in 2015, against whom Maduro had staged his coup and who subsequently went into exile. On this occasion, Dinorah Figuera also met with Delcy Rodríguez, and the United States hailed the “concrete results” of the negotiations in Venezuela aimed at promoting a democratic transition. Among the agreements reached in the latest round are the revision of several repressive laws, the creation of a joint commission to manage Venezuela’s gold reserves held at the Bank of England, progress towards the appointment of 32 new judges to rebuild an independent Supreme Court of Justice, the restoration of access to over 70 previously blocked websites, and the reform of the Law against Incitement to Hatred. Dinorah Figuera stated, however, that there are difficulties in making progress on issues of political guarantees, which include the lifting of the ban on María Corina Machado and an end to judicial interference in political parties. There are still 325 political prisoners in detention, and indeed, during Thursday’s demonstration, there were seven new arrests.