Machado Plans Return to Venezuela for Elections

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner for her pro-democracy activism, announced on Sunday that she plans to return to the country in the coming weeks to help prepare for upcoming elections.

Machado, a 58-year-old former lawmaker and key figure in Venezuela's opposition, shared the news in a six-minute video message on social media. She did not specify a return date but emphasized her goals of strengthening national unity and building toward what she described as a "gigantic electoral victory." Her announcement comes amid a fragile political transition following the U.S. capture of former President Nicolás Maduro in January 2026, which has led to initial steps toward democratic reforms.

Machado fled Venezuela in December 2025 after spending more than a year in hiding to evade arrest threats from authorities under Maduro's government. She had been barred from running in the July 28, 2024, presidential election, which the opposition claimed was fraudulently won by Maduro despite evidence pointing to opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia as the actual victor. Protests after the vote led to widespread repression, prompting...