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By October 25, 2026 / 8:11 PM EDT / CBS Miami Add CBS News on Google Patrons at a Venezuelan restaurant in South Florida gathered Sunday to discuss news of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado's return to Venezuela , weighing questions about the country's future and expressing hope for democratic change across the region. A screen grab from an AFP video shows Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado attending a religious service at the Church of Santa Rosa in Barquisimeto, Venezuela on October 25, 2026. Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado said on October 25, 2026, that she had returned to Venezuela after nearly a year in exile.
Ramon VELIZ /AFP via Getty Images At El Arepazo in Doral, Ever Alexander followed a live group chat regarding the developments. "What's going to happen now?" Alexander asked in Spanish. "Will there be elections?
Or what does the United States plan to do with Venezuela?" Luis Montenegro, another customer at the restaurant, emphasized the long-awaited significance of her return. "I think the return of Maria Corina was long due," Montenegro said. "This is not just the right time.
It was about time." Montenegro, who is originally from Nicaragua — a nation also lacking free and fair elections — noted that he is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela. "I think Venezuela is like a landmark for everybody on the continent right now," Montenegro added. "So yes, I hope for free and fair elections everywhere." About Machado's return to Venezuela Machado's return comes after nearly a year in exile, with her posting to X in Spanish, "I am here.
With you." Machado covertly snuck out of the South American country in December with a private U.S. rescue team to accept the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize in Norway , her first public appearance in 11 months. The event was a month before the U.S. military deposed the country's then-President Nicolás Maduro. Machado, who was barred by Maduro's government from leaving Venezuela, is considered a fugitive by the Venezuelan government, which accuses her of calling for military intervention against the country.
After the news of her arrival, Machado was seen at a church in the state of Lara, west of Caracas. Dozens of supporters shook her hand and hugged her, with cellphones aloft to record her return, the Associated Press reported. Since Maduro's ouster, Venezuela has been run by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, a longtime ally of Maduro who received the Trump administration's blessing to succeed him.
Rodríguez has exceeded the time she was authorized to serve as acting president following Maduro's capture, and no election is scheduled. Machado and her allies have been demanding a date for a presidential election in Venezuela, but U.S. officials have emphasized economic stabilization first. In: Venezuela South Florida Doral South Florida Venezuelans react to Maria Corina Machado's return to the country after hiatus 02:24 South Florida Venezuelans react to Maria Corina Machado's return to the country after hiatus (02:24)
Source: CBS News
