Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado vows new presidential run and return from exile by end of 2026
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said she plans to run for president again and return to Venezuela before the end of 2026 as she renewed calls for democratic elections in the country.
Speaking Saturday during a meeting with fellow opposition leaders in Panama City, Machado said the opposition remains committed to achieving a democratic transition through free and fair presidential elections that would allow Venezuelans both inside and outside the country to vote.
Machado has been living in exile since December after spending nearly a year in hiding in Venezuela. She later traveled to Norway, where she received the Nobel Peace Prize. Her latest comments come months after the White House shifted its approach toward Venezuela following the U.S. military capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro and began working with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, a figure tied to the ruling party.
Although Venezuela’s constitution requires elections within 30 days if a president becomes permanently unavailable, no timeline for a presidential vote has been announced. Machado said organizing credible elections would require seven to nine months of preparation, including appointing neutral electoral authorities, updating voter registration systems, and guaranteeing opposition candidates can run without government interference.
Machado became the leading face of Venezuela’s opposition movement in recent years, but Maduro’s government barred her from participating in the 2024 presidential election. She instead backed retired diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia as the opposition candidate. While government officials declared Maduro the winner shortly after polls closed, Machado’s campaign argued it had collected evidence showing González won the election by a wide margin.
She said Saturday that she would welcome an open presidential contest against any challenger under fair electoral conditions.
“I will be a candidate, but there may be others,” Machado said. “I would love to compete with everyone, with anyone who wants to be a candidate.”
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