Venezuela’s opposition leader Machado says she will return to the country in the coming weeks

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader and winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize María Corina Machado said on Sunday that she will return to Venezuela in the coming weeks and that elections will be held in the South American country.

Machado did not set a date for her return but said that one of the objectives will be to prepare “for a new and gigantic electoral victory.”

In a message shared on social media, the politician called on her supporters to “strengthen the unity of Venezuelans that began with the primaries,” a reference to the 2023 process in which she won the vote aimed at establishing a single candidate to compete at the polls against former President Nicolás Maduro.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez – in power since Maduro and his wife were captured in a U.S. military operation in January — has warned that Machado “will have to answer” if she returns to the country.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that change in Venezuela must go through phases of stabilization, economic recovery and transition. He has not indicated that elections could be held in the short term.

The 58-year-old politician, a key figure in the Venezuelan opposition, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year for her fight for democratic transition in Venezuela.

She controversially later presented her medal to U.S. President Donald Trump after the military intervention that deposited Maduro, who now faces drug-trafficking-related charges in U.S. courts. He has pleaded not guilty.

After Maduro was declared the victor of the July 2024 elections, protests erupted which sparked widespread repression. The opposition claimed it had credible evidence that the real winner was Edmundo González, who replaced Machado after she was barred from participating.