Venezuelan opposition leader María Machado returns after months in exile

Fonte da imagem, ReutersPor Grace Eliza Goodwin Líder da oposição venezuelana María Corina Machado retornou ao lar para um cenário político conturbado após mais de 10 meses em exílio.

I am here. With you," Machado wrote on X on Sunday.

Her ally, former presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, confirmed the news minutes later, writing: "I am thrilled to announce to you that our leader, my dear María Corina, is on Venezuelan soil.

In January, a month after Machado left Venezuela to accept the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway, the US seized her opponent, President Nicolás Maduro.

The Trump administration then backed his deputy, Delcy Rodríguez, as leader, and she was sworn in as interim president, later signing an oil deal with the US.

Hoje é um dia muito importante para os venezuelanos. Nossa voz soberana retorna com ela para liderar e guiar este processo!" González Urrutia continuou.

He added that he will soon join Machado in Venezuela to advance the country "toward freedom.

An advisor to Machado said in September that over the previous few weeks Machado had attempted seven times to return to Venezuela, but was denied each time.

Não está claro o que Machado pretende fazer agora que voltou, mas ela já disse que, se fosse realizada uma eleição, ela concorreria novamente à presidência.

A staunch supporter of democracy, Machado won an independent presidential primary election - held outside the Maduro government's official election authority - in 2023, earning more than 90% of the vote.

Apesar de vencer a prévia, o governo de Maduro proibiu Machado de concorrer a cargos públicos, acusando‑a de fraude e violação fiscal. Machado negou as acusações, chamando‑as de motivadas politicamente.

In the 2024 election, Machado's ally González Urrutia ran in her place against Maduro.

A autoridade eleitoral, que mantém estreita aliança com o governo, declarou Maduro vencedor sem publicar os resultados detalhados das eleições.

The opposition argued that González won the election, not Maduro, uploading copies of the voting tallies as evidence.

In a statement shared with Margaret Brennan of CBS News, the BBC's US partner, a spokesperson for Machado called her return "a major step toward a democratic transition and free, fair, and verifiable presidential elections in the near future.