Machado Return Raises Pressure for Venezuela’s 2027 Election

Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado returned to Caracas after more than 10 months abroad, drawing jubilant crowds. Her return puts pressure on interim President Delcy Rodríguez, who took power after U.S. forces captured Nicolás Maduro in January, as Machado seeks elections in 2027 and may seek a role in the transition. Machado was disqualified from the 2024 election, and her movement has been excluded from talks between the interim government and parts of the opposition. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States urged interim authorities to let Machado return, while warning that a credible election requires reforms to the Supreme Court and National Electoral Council. The Trump administration says it is working with Rodríguez’s government and using sanctions and economic licenses as leverage, and says agreed reform deadlines are being met.