Machado’s homecoming adds pressure on US-backed talks in Venezuela

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado is willing to meet acting President Delcy Rodríguez, her party’s spokeswoman said, as her surprise return after 10 months in exile adds pressure to negotiations over the country’s political future.

Machado travelled by land from Colombia to Venezuela on October 25, drawing thousands of supporters along the roughly 400-kilometre route from Barquisimeto to Caracas. Her party, Vente Venezuela, said the return had Washington’s approval, though details of how she entered the country remain unclear. Machado had previously made at least seven attempts to return by air and sea, according to her camp.

“She has expressed her willingness to sit down not only with Delcy (Rodríguez), but with whoever she needs to sit down with in front of the country, with complete transparency,” spokeswoman Claudia Macero said, according to the account provided, as reported by El Nacional. Machado’s immediate plans include meetings with her party’s leadership and other opposition groups, followed by a nationwide tour ahead of future elections.

Rodríguez brushed off the public reception as an unnecessary “show”, arguing that Machado could have used the country’s airports. She also said she hoped Machado would show “regret, remorse and a change of course" over her past advocacy for sanctions and military actions against Caracas. Machado's return comes as the interim government negotiates with opposition figures in a process backed by the US that envisages judicial and electoral reforms before new elections are held.

The talks have come under pressure from two sides, from opposition demonstrators demanding an electoral timetable and criticising the lack of tangible progress, and from hardline Chavista factions that accuse Rodríguez of selling the country to the US. Rodríguez has also sought to distinguish between opposition groups participating in negotiations, led by 2015 National Assembly President Dinorah Figuera, and those challenging the process such as figures close to Machado's party.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington had obtained assurances from the interim government that Machado could return safely and travel freely. He added that Venezuelan authorities had agreed to pursue judicial and electoral changes, including establishing a new Supreme Court and overhauling the National Electoral Council.

“Obviously, we need to use our leverage with the government for the interim authorities to ensure that the process is moving forward in a responsible way,” Rubio said. “Our goal here is to have an election.”

Rubio argued that a lasting democratic transition would require negotiations and institutional reform rather than street protests alone, warning that "if anybody tries to derail that process, they're doing a ​great harm to Venezuela." Machado’s return, however, introduces renewed uncertainty over the opposition’s leadership and its role in shaping the transition.

The Trump administration has largely sidelined Machado since US forces captured former president Nicolás Maduro on January 3, choosing instead to work with Rodríguez, his former vice-president, on a three-phase plan of stabilisation, economic recovery and democratic transition outlined by Rubio. Trump said shortly after the operation that Machado lacked the support or the respect within the country to lead it.

“Delcy derives her legitimacy solely from the White House, whereas Maria Corina derives hers from the Venezuelan people,” said James B. Story, US ambassador to Venezuela from 2018 to 2023, according to the NYT.

Yet so far Rodríguez has proved receptive to Washington’s demands. Her government has opened the oil and mining sectors to foreign investors and says it has released over 1,000 people from detention since January, a figure independent monitors have only partly verified. Her legitimacy nonetheless remains contested. The constitution’s 180-day limit on an interim presidency has expired with no election date set, and the oil agreement Trump announced on August 28, covering 17 fields with an estimated 65bn barrels of reserves, was negotiated without competitive bidding. It places operations, where the Pentagon holds a 35% stake, in the hands of North American Blue Energy Partners, owned by controversial Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt.

In recent weeks, Machado has openly criticised the deal, pointing to Betancourt's corruption allegations. Addressing her criticism at a press briefing on October 26, Rubio said "As far as her criticism of the deal, I mean, that's fine. I mean, that's her opinion on it," further defending the agreement as "the majority of the oil fields [Venezuela] controlled were once being processed or held by Chinese or Russian companies".