'I am here. With you': Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado returns from exile

Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado has returned to the South American country after nearly a year abroad, former opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González announced on Sunday.“Venezuela! I am thrilled to announce to you that our leader, my dear Maria Corina, is on Venezuelan soil. Today is a very important day for Venezuelans. Our sovereign voice returns with her to lead and guide this process!” González posted in Spanish on X.“Very soon I will be with you and with her so that our country truly advances toward freedom. You know it, this is until the end,” he added.González's announcement came in response to a cryptic post by Machado, who wrote in Spanish: “I am here. With you.”Machado’s return to Venezuela comes nine months after a US military operation in January that removed President Nicolás Maduro from power. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken to the United States to face federal charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine, and weapons-related offences.Both have pleaded not guilty.Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, assumed office as interim president following his removal from power. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly voiced support for Rodríguez and welcomed deals involving oil production and other business ventures by US companies in Venezuela.In September, Trump said it was “too soon” to consider holding democratic elections in Venezuela.'Knew nothing about Machado's return': TrumpMeanwhile, Trump told reporters at the White House that he did not know anything about Machado's return to Venezuela.Trump described Machado a "very nice woman" and added that the US was doing "really well." He also suggested that Washington would continue to back Rodriguez.According to David Smolansky, Machado's top foreign affairs advisor, she plans to meet with victims of the deadly earthquakes that struck Venezuela in June, as well as the families of political prisoners, the international community and various leaders from the democratic movement in the Latin American nation."She will work proactively for a date for free and fair elections," Smolansky said.(With Reuters inputs)You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.