Venezuelans Rally for Machado's Return and Fresh Presidential Vote

Supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado took to the streets on Sunday to press for her safe return and for presidential elections that could open the way to a democratic transition in the South American country.

In Caracas, hundreds of activists wearing the sky blue of Machado's Vente Venezuela party rode motorcycles and drove along the capital's main avenues, sounding horns and waving Venezuelan flags. Similar demonstrations were held in state capitals including Valencia, Maracaibo and Merida.

"This is not a matter of parties or politics," said Flavio Valentini, a Vente Venezuela activist in Caracas who took up a megaphone to address the crowd. "This is a movement for the people and by the people."

Anthony Romero, a leader of the party in the capital, said supporters hoped the process would lead to presidential elections and "consolidates a free, democratic country that will be the main ally of the United States."

Machado has spent the past nine months in exile, and her plans to return home have repeatedly fallen through. Opposition activists have accused the government of blocking her return, a claim Venezuelan authorities deny.

Her party said this week that Machado made three unsuccessful attempts to return on Monday night. According to her team, she tried to reach Venezuela by sea, but the company that chartered her boat cancelled the trip hours before departure, saying the vessel was unfit for navigation. She then sought to fly to Curacao, from where she could take a speed boat to Venezuela, but her plane was denied landing permits.

In all, her party says, Machado has made seven failed attempts to return this year. Some critics have questioned whether the Trump administration is also involved in keeping her out. U.S. officials deny holding her back, though they have said that on some occasions they advised against returning because of safety concerns.

Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a news conference that Machado has "every right to enter her country whenever she wants to return." On Wednesday, he said he was unaware of her most recent efforts to go back. Rubio has said the United States would like to see thousands of Venezuelans return and "open the businesses that they lost," and has long argued that Venezuela must stabilise its economy and rebuild institutions such as its courts and electoral council before holding new elections.

Machado, one of Venezuela's most popular political figures, was barred from running in the country's last presidential election by courts under the control of former President Nicolás Maduro. Her stand-in candidate is widely believed to have won with almost two thirds of the vote, but Maduro claimed victory and launched a violent crackdown on dissidents who protested the official results, forcing Machado and dozens of opposition leaders into hiding.

Last year, Machado left Venezuela clandestinely after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to restore democracy. A U.S. military operation removed Maduro in January, but she has been unable to return since. The government is now led by Delcy Rodríguez, a Maduro ally who has opened Venezuela's oil industry to foreign investment and is working closely with the Trump administration.