The president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, applauded this Sunday the return to Venezuela of the opposition leader María Corina Machado, who left the country in December 2025, and described it as an "exciting moment." At the same time, the 'popular' leader has demanded "free elections" in the Latin American country so that citizens can decide at the polls.
"The return of María Corina Machado to Venezuela is an exciting moment. It represents the strength of those who do not resign themselves and the confirmation that freedom always ends up breaking through against tyranny," Feijóo claimed through a message on the social network 'X'.
The leader of the PP has also emphasized the importance of respecting the personal guarantees of the opposition leader. "We wish for her security to be fully guaranteed," he insisted, before concluding: "Democracy must always prevail."
Exit from Venezuela in 2025 and return after the earthquakes
Machado, founder of the opposition party Vente Venezuela, left Venezuela in December 2025 heading to Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She ultimately did not arrive in time for the event, and the award was collected in her name by her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa. Since then, the opposition leader has reiterated on various occasions that her intention was to return to Venezuelan territory.
After the devastating earthquakes in June, the leader openly raised the possibility of returning to the country. However, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State indicated in early July, in statements to Europa Press, that Washington did not consider her return appropriate at that time, given that the priority of the Donald Trump Administration was "the progress" of its "response efforts" to the earthquakes.
In parallel, the Venezuelan government has tightened communication with Washington following the U.S. military incursion on January 3, in which President Nicolás Maduro was detained, currently being tried in New York. In that operation, more than a hundred people died, and Vice President Delcy Rodríguez assumed power temporarily.
This Sunday, the opposition leader has finally returned to Venezuelan soil and, in the same vein, the former presidential candidate of the opposition, Edmundo González, has announced that he will also return "soon" to the country.