María Corina Machado Returns to Venezuela After 10 Months in Exile as Trump Distances Himself
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Oct 25
María Corina Machado Returns to Venezuela After 10 Months in Exile as Trump Distances Himself
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Oct 25
Summary
Machado, 59, said “I’m here. With you” after re-entering Venezuela nearly a year after leaving for her Nobel Peace Prize, with ally Edmundo González confirming her arrival.
Barquisimeto footage showed her inside the Sanctuary of the Divine Shepherdess, surrounded by supporters, though it remained unclear how she got back after reportedly making more than half a dozen failed return attempts.
González cast the return as a political turning point, saying Machado had come back to “lead and guide this process” and adding that he also planned to return from exile soon.
Trump said he knew nothing about her return and hoped she was safe, despite reports his administration had opposed the move while cultivating ties with interim president Delcy Rodríguez after Nicolás Maduro’s January capture.
The return reopens a rivalry at the center of Venezuela’s post-Maduro transition: Machado’s movement is widely seen as the real winner of the 2024 election, but Washington instead embraced Rodríguez to govern.