Opposition leader María Corina Machado returned to Venezuela after nearly a year in exile, and supporters greeted her with an emotional welcome. Video shows her embracing followers while a crowd cheered her arrival.
In Weston, Cristina Guevara, a Caracas native visiting her sister, said she has hope for her country. She called Machado “our liberator” and said she trusts that things will turn out the way Venezuelans want. Ana Guevara said acting interim president Delcy Rodríguez should not stay in power and urged help from the United States to remove her.
Machado’s return comes 10 months after the United States captured former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. Rodríguez, a longtime Maduro ally who has the backing of the Trump administration, was supposed to serve only 90 days as interim president. She has remained in office past that deadline, and no elections are scheduled.
President Donald Trump told reporters he knew nothing about the development but described Machado as “a very nice woman.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that her return was a direct result of U.S.-backed reconciliation talks and that the political freedom of all Venezuelan political sectors must be respected.
For the large Venezuelan community in South Florida, the open questions now center on what happens next in Caracas and whether elections will be set.
