We've been expecting this news for months...
“I'm here. With you.”
María Corina Machado returned to Venezuela. Her reappearance took place at the Divina Pastora Shrine, about 260 km from Caracas; and, as expected, it caused quite a stir...
After 10 months in exile and seven failed attempts to enter the country, Machado wanted to thank the Virgin for her safe return. And this is how she did it:
Attending a Mass, which produced images like these...
And a few seconds later, praying silently on her knees:
And this was the surrounding environment. For many, his return was another step toward hope.
“The Virgin Mary has performed a miracle for us. It’s no coincidence that that woman is here today—or rather, that we’re here. I’ve told my daughters to have faith, and today God has definitely made Himself known. She’s going to be Venezuela’s next president, and we have faith in that.”
The religious object that María Corina always carries with her is the rosary. These are the ones that Venezuelans give her on all her trips around the country.
Machado has never hidden her religion. And she has publicly reiterated this on many occasions. When she left Venezuela, she said this...
I am Catholic, as you know, and believe me, during my trip, I prayed a lot.
After the 2024 presidential election, Machado spent 11 months in hiding due to threats from Nicolás Maduro’s government. She then received the Nobel Prize in December 2025, having to flee the country to accept the award in Oslo, Norway.
On January 3, 2026, the United States captured Maduro, who remains in prison along with his wife, Cilia Flores.
Just nine days after her arrest, María Corina made her first public appearance. It was at the Vatican with Pope Leo XIV. Here’s what she said about her face-to-face meeting with the pope...
And it was a day that marked my life in a personal dimension. But also had I had the reassurance, the Holy Father, that he knows very well what is going on in Venezuela.
Politically speaking, the country is in the hands of Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former right-hand woman, whom the Trump administration installed as acting president.
What happens next remains unclear, at least publicly. The U.S. president noted that María Corina “is a very kind woman,” but that “things are going very well for them in Venezuela.”
On the other hand, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a month ago that the transition process was underway. So all that’s left to do is wait.
