Machado Back in Venezuela After Nearly a Year Abroad, Straining Ties With Washington

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has returned to her country after almost a year away, she announced on social media on Sunday. "I'm here. With you all," wrote Machado, who is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Her press team released photos showing her at a church in the Plaza del Pueblo de Santa Rosa, in the central-western state of Lara. Machado did not reveal where she is staying now or how she made it back into the country.

Machado left Venezuela secretly in late 2025 to collect the Nobel Peace Prize. Former President Nicolas Maduro's government had barred her from leaving, and she had spent more than a year mostly in hiding before her departure.

The question of when she would come home has complicated her relationship with the Trump administration, which she has tried to win over as an ally since before it removed Maduro from power in January. Reuters reported in June that US officials had asked her to delay her trip.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly voiced support for interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who served as Maduro's deputy, and has praised agreements on oil production and other business ventures involving US companies. In September, he said it was too soon to think about democratic elections in Venezuela.

Speaking at the White House on Sunday, Trump said he knew nothing about Machado's return and indicated Washington would keep backing Rodriguez. "She's a very nice woman," he said of Machado. "But we're doing really well in Venezuela." In a Fox News interview the same day, he claimed the US had "total control of Venezuela" and said the country was "taking out millions of barrels of oil a week."

Neither the White House nor the Venezuelan communications ministry, which handles press queries for the government, immediately answered requests for comment on her return.

David Smolansky, Machado's top foreign affairs adviser, told Reuters she plans to meet survivors of the deadly earthquakes that hit Venezuela in June, families of political prisoners, members of the international community and leaders of the democratic movement. "She will work proactively for a date for free and fair elections," he said. The twin earthquakes killed at least 6,500 people and left thousands missing. In June, Machado said she would do whatever it took to return and help survivors.

Last month, international energy companies pledged to expand projects in Venezuela at a signing ceremony overseen by Rodriguez and US Energy Secretary Chris Wright. Machado has argued that only a "serious, democratic government" can offer investors the stability they need.

Separately, a faction of the opposition and the interim government held their latest round of talks this month, aimed at remaking the top court and the electoral council ahead of eventual elections. Machado's political movement is not part of those discussions. Edmundo Gonzalez, a former presidential candidate for her movement who lives in Spain, confirmed her return in his own post and said he would soon join her.