Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado returned to Venezuela on Sunday for the first time since December, about a month before the US military ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro.

Machado announced her arrival on social media, writing, “I am here. With you.”

Opposition leader Edmundo González also confirmed Machado's return in a post on X, saying he would join her “very soon.”

“Today is a very important day for Venezuelans. Our sovereign voice returns with her to lead and guide this process!” he wrote. “You know it, this is until the end.”

Machado's return after more than 10 months in exile comes amid growing uncertainty over Venezuela's democratic future and the role of the United States in shaping it.

Since Maduro's removal, Venezuela has been governed by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, a longtime ally of Maduro who received the Trump administration's backing to succeed him.

Rodríguez has remained in office beyond the period she was authorised to serve as acting president following Maduro's capture, while no date has been set for an election.

Machado spent 11 months in hiding in Venezuela after being briefly detained following a protest in January 2025. She later left the country in a clandestine operation and reappeared in Norway that December, where she received the Nobel Peace Prize for her peaceful challenge to Maduro's authoritarian government.

Machado and her allies have been pressing for a date for Venezuela's presidential election, while US officials have stressed that economic stabilisation should take priority.