Venezuela's Machado thanks Trump, urges 2027 elections after exile return
Nobel laureate Maria Corina Machado returned to Caracas, pressed for presidential elections and criticised a US oil deal with Venezuela.
At a glance
- Maria Corina Machado returned to Venezuela from more than 10 months in exile and spoke publicly in Caracas on Thursday.
- She thanked the Trump administration for Maduro's removal and called for presidential elections in 2027.
- Machado criticised a US oil deal under which Venezuela will hand over 20 percent of its oil reserves.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has returned to Caracas after more than 10 months in exile and used her first public remarks since coming home to call for presidential elections in 2027 and thank US President Donald Trump's administration for opening what she called the "floodgate to freedom".
Speaking at a news conference in the capital on Thursday, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate credited Trump, his administration and Secretary of State Marco Rubio with the January operation that removed President Nicolas Maduro from power.
"Thanks to their vision, their courage, and their action on January 3, the floodgate to freedom has been opened," she said.
Machado said Rubio "has set out a sequence of events aimed at moving toward a democratic transition that makes clear the holding of presidential elections in 2027".
Return from exile
Machado fled Venezuela for Oslo in December to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. She said she had come home to "mobilise society". US special forces veterans working with an organisation called Grey Bull Rescue helped her escape by boat after she spent a year in hiding from Maduro's government, according to the report.
She was greeted by cheering supporters after returning to Venezuela on Sunday and travelled in her motorcade. Maduro has been out of power since January, with the country now led by his former vice president, Delcy Rodriguez. Rodriguez said on state television that the fanfare was unnecessary: "The show could have been avoided – the airports are right here."
Shortly before Machado spoke on Thursday, Rodriguez said elections would be held in Venezuela "with the world as witness" but did not specify a date. Machado said she had not received any message from Rodriguez or from Washington about a possible meeting.
Criticism of US oil deal
Machado's return comes just weeks after a controversial US oil agreement under which Venezuela will hand over 20 percent of its vast oil reserves.
"This agreement does not reflect the levels of transparency that Venezuelan society wants," she said, criticising the deal.
Machado has praised Trump before, presenting him with her Nobel medal, an award he had himself sought in 2025.
Source: Al Jazeera.
Questions and answers
- Who is Maria Corina Machado?
- She is a Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who returned to Venezuela after more than 10 months in exile and called for presidential elections in 2027.
- What happened to Nicolas Maduro?
- Al Jazeera reports that Maduro was abducted in January in an action Machado credited to the Trump administration. Since then, Venezuela has been led by his former vice president, Delcy Rodriguez.
- When will Venezuela hold elections?
- Machado called for presidential elections in 2027. Delcy Rodriguez said elections would be held "with the world as witness" but did not specify a date.
