Opposition leader María Corina Machado returns to Caracas after months in hiding

On the evening of October 25, 2026, María Corina Machado was seen in Barquisimeto, where she visited the Santa Rosa church before continuing toward the capital. Around 10:25 p.m., her caravan entered Santa Mónica on the main route to Caracas, and drivers along the Valle‑Coche highway honked their horns as a crowd of roughly 3,000 people shouted slogans. The gathering marked her return after 16 months spent in hiding following a kidnapping that she says was carried out by government paramilitaries during a public protest in 2025, and after ten months abroad.

Machado’s arrival follows a period of political turbulence that included the capture of former president Nicolás Maduro on January 3, 2026, and her unsuccessful attempts to re‑enter Venezuela on at least seven occasions, which she attributed to restrictions imposed by an administration linked to U.S. President Donald Trump. Her return was celebrated by many while also prompting questions about the country’s political future.