Crowds welcome Venezuela's María Machado after months in exile

Crowds welcome Venezuela's María Machado after months in exile.

Key points

• Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has returned home after more than 10 months in exile.
• Machado attended Mass at a church in the state of Lara, and was surrounded by jubilant supporters.
• The US seized her opponent, President Nicolás Maduro, last January.
• As leader and she was sworn in as interim president, the Trump administration then backed his deputy, Delcy Rodríguez.
• Her return came after a number of prior efforts to re-enter the country came to no avail.

"I am here. With you, " Machado wrote on X on Sunday. Her return came after a number of prior efforts to re-enter the country came to no avail.

Machado attended Mass at a church in the state of Lara, and was surrounded by jubilant supporters. Afterwards, enormous crowds lined the route of her journey through Caracas.

Meanwhile, the US seized her opponent, President Nicolás Maduro, last January. The move came a month after Machado escaped Venezuela under cover of darkness to accept the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway.

Taken together, the developments around crowds welcome Venezuela' s María Machado after months in exile point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.