Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado returned after 10 months abroad, her party said, as Vente Venezuela pressed for a published election calendar and a 2027 presidential vote.
Vente Venezuela said Machado returned Sunday, Oct. 25, and visited Santa Rosa church in Lara state. The party said she continued through Yaracuy, Carabobo and Aragua toward Caracas. Machado confirmed her return that day in an X post: “Estoy aquí. Con ustedes” (“I am here. With you”). The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded her the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. Vente Venezuela counted her time abroad as 10 months; Buenos Aires Times described it as nearly a year.
In a statement dated Oct. 19, Vente Venezuela called for publication of an election calendar and a presidential vote in 2027. It said supporters want Machado to run. The statement presents the 2027 timing as the party’s proposal, not as a government announcement.
Her return followed nationwide opposition rallies demanding elections while the vote date remained unset.
Reports described crowds at different points of Machado’s journey. Gulf News reported dozens at the Santa Rosa church, while Buenos Aires Times described thousands along roads and in Caracas.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Oct. 25 that conditions for Machado’s safe return were “the direct result of the U.S. supported reconciliation talks.” He urged political actors to support the talks.
