Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado returns to country after 10-month exile

October 25, 2026 / 12:57 PM EDT / CBS News

Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado is back in her home country after nearly a year in exile, her team confirmed to CBS News on Sunday.

"I am here. With you," Machado posted in Spanish on X.

She did not disclose more details about her current location or how she returned.

Machado's senior adviser David Smoalnsky said in a statement to CBS that her return is "a major step toward a democratic transition and free, fair, and verifiable presidential elections in the near future."

"Machado returns to stand with Venezuelans in their pursuit of freedom, democracy, and justice, and to help advance a peaceful, inclusive, and sustainable transition leading to free, fair, and verifiable presidential elections, with guarantees for all," he said, thanking President Trump, the U.S. government and others for "their continued leadership and support."

Machado covertly snuck out of the South American country in December with a private U.S. rescue team to accept the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize in Norway, her first public appearance in 11 months. The event was a month before the U.S. military deposed the country's then-President Nicolás Maduro.

Machado, who was…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/