Nobel Peace laureate and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado returned to Caracas on Sunday, 25 October 2026, after more than 10 months in exile, in a surprise move that could test acting President Delcy Rodriguez's political opening and the Trump administration's strategy for post-Maduro Venezuela. Machado confirmed her return by posting 'I'm here, with you' on X, giving no details on how she entered the country or her precise whereabouts. Her press team separately shared images of her in central-western Lara state, at the Plaza del Pueblo de Santa Rosa, where she appeared at a church.
David Smolansky, Machado's top foreign affairs adviser, told Reuters she plans to meet with victims of the deadly June earthquakes, families of political prisoners, the international community and various leaders from the democratic movement. Smolansky added that she 'will work proactively for a date for free and fair elections' [Source: Reuters]. Edmundo Gonzalez, a former presidential candidate for Machado's movement who has been living in Spain, confirmed her return and said he would soon join her. Speaking at the White House on Sunday, Trump said he did not know anything about Machado's return and suggested the US would continue to back Rodriguez. During a Fox News interview the same day, Trump said the US had 'total control of Venezuela' and that the US was 'taking out millions of barrels of oil a week' [Source: Reuters].
Machado's return comes days after thousands of Venezuelans marched in Caracas and other states on 22 October to demand elections and call for her return. Her desire to come back had caused friction in Washington — US officials asked her to delay the trip, Reuters reported in June — and her allies and the Rodriguez administration have been at odds over the path forward. Machado and her movement have been demanding a date for a presidential election, while US officials have emphasised economic stabilisation first. Trump said in September it is too soon to consider democratic elections in Venezuela.
The political backdrop to her return stretches back to January 2026, when the United States carried out strikes in Venezuela and arrested then-President Nicolas Maduro on drug trafficking charges; Rodriguez was officially sworn in as acting president on 5 January. Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were taken to New York to face those charges and both have pleaded not guilty. Rodriguez remained acting president beyond the 90-day limit set by Venezuela's high court, and the US Treasury Department lifted sanctions on her while the US State Department recognised her as the 'sole Head of State' of Venezuela. Trump has repeatedly expressed support for Rodriguez and hailed deals on oil production and other business ventures by US companies in the country. Machado's unannounced homecoming, following her secret departure in late 2025 to receive the Nobel Peace Prize — after spending more than a year living mostly in hiding — now inserts a new dynamic into an already fragile political transition.