Opposition leader María Machado returns from exile to a Venezuela reshaped by Trump

What the report says

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has returned to the country after months abroad, drawing large crowds of supporters as she traveled from Lara state to Caracas. BBC World News reports that her reappearance comes after repeated previous attempts to come back were blocked, including by the Trump administration, which had said the timing was not right.

The article says Machado had left Venezuela last year to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo and is now back in a political landscape that has changed significantly. Nicolás Maduro is no longer in power, having been removed by US forces on 3 January, and the country is now led by Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice-president. The BBC also says Washington’s relationship with Caracas has shifted sharply, including a newly struck oil deal between the Trump administration and Venezuela.

Machado has welcomed US support but criticized the oil agreement, while careful not to attack President Trump directly. The BBC notes that Trump has described Rodríguez positively, despite earlier harsh language toward Maduro’s government. Machado still faces charges in Venezuela that she and her allies have long dismissed as politically motivated.

Analysts quoted by the BBC say her return could energize the opposition and encourage more public political activity. The report places the moment within broader US-backed talks between the Venezuelan government and the opposition, suggesting Machado’s homecoming may shape the next phase of negotiations and domestic mobilization.