Nobel Laureate María Corina Machado Returns to Venezuela After Nearly a Year in Exile

Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado has returned to her home country after nearly a year in exile, CBS News reported. Confirming her arrival, she posted a brief, emotional message on X: “I am here. With you.”

Her return follows intensive diplomatic engagement aimed at easing the country’s political gridlock.

TRUMP: ‘SHE GAVE ME HER NOBEL PRIZE’

Asked about it by reporters, US President Donald Trump praised Machado and wished her safety. “I don’t know anything about it, but I think she’s a very nice woman,” he said. “She gave me her Nobel Prize, so how can I say anything else? And I hope she’s safe.” Washington’s engagement in the region, he added, was going “really well in Venezuela.”

RUBIO: ‘BEST CHANCE IN THIRTY YEARS’

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X that the conditions for her safe return were “the direct result of the U.S. supported reconciliation talks.” Those talks, he said, have already seen hundreds of political prisoners freed and hundreds of opposition figures return from exile.

Rubio urged all Venezuelan political factions to follow peaceful democratic principles. “The United States expects the freedoms of all sectors of Venezuelan politics to continue to be respected,” he said.

He added that Washington expects all political actors to back the talks, “which represent the best chance Venezuela has had in thirty years to peacefully achieve not just a free and fair election but an enduring democracy.”

A LONG ROAD HOME

According to CBS News, the Venezuelan government had barred Machado from leaving the country and regarded her as a fugitive, accusing her of advocating foreign military intervention. She made several unsuccessful attempts to return, including after the devastating twin earthquakes of June 24.

With inputs from ANI