María Corina Machado Returns To Venezuela After Months In Exile In Panama

Machado Returns, Trump Reacts

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado returned to Venezuela on Sunday after several months in exile in Panama, writing on X, "I am here. With you," as her team thanked Trump and Rubio Muhammed Yasin Güngör.

Trump told reporters he had not been informed about Machado’s return, adding, "I hope she is safe," while Rubio said the conditions enabling her safe return were the "direct result of reconciliation talks backed by the United States."

Machado’s return came after more than 10 months in exile, with her photographed attending Mass at a church in the Venezuelan state of Lara and then beginning travel to Caracas in a caravan of cheering supporters.

Machado’s ally Edmundo González welcomed her arrival, writing on X that "with her, our sovereign voice returns to lead and guide this process," and he pledged to join her soon on Venezuelan soil to work toward a political transition.

An advisor to Machado said in September that Machado had attempted seven times to return to Venezuela, but was denied each time, and the sources said there were reports the US was involved in delaying her return, which it denied.

Reporting for this sectionAnadolu AjansıBBC

U.S. Role and Political Transition

David Smolansky, a senior adviser to Machado, said the return marked "a major step toward a democratic transition and free, fair, and verifiable presidential elections in the near future," and he thanked President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the U.S. government, Congress, and allied governments. Rubio said the reconciliation talks backed by the United States led to the release of "hundreds of political prisoners" and the return of exiled figures, and he urged all parts of the country to support dialogue as the "best chance Venezuela has had in thirty years." Machado’s ability to return was contingent on approval from the Trump administration, and her independent presidential primary election in 2023 produced more than 90% of the vote.

Maduro was removed from the country by US forces in January and is currently jailed in New York where he faces drugs, weapons and torture charges, and he has pleaded not guilty. El Mundo framed the return as a factor in the battle for control of Congress ahead of the next November 3 elections, and it said Republicans claimed it as an achievement of President Donald Trump despite reports suggesting it was Trump who held back the return on several occasions.

Reporting for this sectionAnadolu AjansıBBC

Machado’s Return Meets U.S. Politics

In Florida, Republican congresswoman María Elvira Salazar credited the return to President Trump and Secretary Marco Rubio, writing on X, "The credit goes to President Trump and Secretary Marco Rubio," and she linked Machado’s homecoming to a path toward democracy in Venezuela. Carlos Giménez celebrated Machado’s return and blamed Delcy Rodríguez for any damage that might occur, while Mario Díaz-Balart warned Caracas that "the United States is watching," calling the moment the best opportunity Venezuela has had in 20 years to achieve, peacefully, not only free and fair elections but also a durable democracy. Up to three lawmakers from Florida’s conservative wing seized the favorable wind to campaign, and Salazar defended her seat in district 27 against Democrat Eliott Rodriguez, a former CBS Miami anchor.

Machado’s return arrived with early voting underway and the November 3 midterms eight days away, and the campaign environment was shaped by immigration enforcement, economic concerns, and competing claims over who best represents South Florida’s Latino communities. Human Rights Watch reported in May that an estimated 4,353 Cubans were deported to Mexico between January 2025 and March 2026, and Salazar asked the Department of Homeland Security to resume citizenship processing and naturalization ceremonies for Cubans and Venezuelans in March.

Reporting for this sectionLatin TimesEl Mundo