Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado returned to the country on October 25, 2026, after months abroad, as she and her allies pressed the government to set a date for a presidential election.

Key Takeaways

  • Machado left Venezuela in December to travel to Norway, where she was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize.
  • Her party said she had made seven unsuccessful attempts to return.
  • The opposition disputes the official result of Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election.

Venezuela opposition leader seeks a new vote

Machado and her allies have called on the government of acting President Delcy Rodríguez to schedule a presidential election. Opposition activists have accused the Venezuelan government of blocking Machado’s return, an allegation authorities deny.

US administration officials have denied holding Machado back, while saying they advised her against returning on some occasions because of safety concerns.

The disputed 2024 election

Machado won the opposition’s presidential primary with more than 90% of the vote, but was kept off the ballot and supported former diplomat Edmundo González instead.

Venezuela’s National Electoral Council declared Nicolás Maduro the winner of the July 28, 2024, election. Voting machine records collected by the opposition and validated by international observers showed González winning by more than a two-to-one margin.

The result prompted protests and more than 2,000 arrests. González later went into exile in Spain after becoming the subject of an arrest warrant. Machado went into hiding after she was briefly detained following a protest in Caracas on January 9, 2025.

Rodríguez’s interim presidency

Weeks after Machado left Venezuela, the US military captured Maduro in Caracas. Venezuela’s highest court subsequently said Rodríguez could serve as acting president for up to 90 days, with a possible additional 90-day extension by the National Assembly.

The ruling party-controlled assembly did not vote to extend her term, which expired in July.

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