Venezuelan opposition leader returns from exile amid uncertain future for country

CARACAS, Venezuela — Opposition leader and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado reappears in Venezuela for the first time since December, returning from exile at a time when doubts about the country’s democratic future — and the role of the US — are growing.

It was her first appearance since the US military deposed the country’s then-President Nicolás Maduro in January, replacing him with an interim president who has exceeded the time she was authorized to serve, with no election scheduled.

Machado announces her arrival on social media, writing, “I am here. With you.”

Another leading figure in the Venezuelan opposition, Edmundo González, writes on X that he would be at her side “very soon.”

“Today is a very important day for Venezuelans,” he writes. “Our sovereign voice returns with her to lead and guide this process!”