Venezuela opposition renews support for Maria Corina Machado as leader

The exiled Nobel laureate has petitioned for new elections in Venezuela and for the country to allow her return.

Demonstrators in Panama City, Panama, hold signs and Venezuelan flags in support of Maria Corina Machado on May 23, 2026 [Enea Lebrun/Getty Images]

An alliance of Venezuelan opposition parties has reaffirmed its commitment to exiled Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado as its leader.

On Sunday, members of the opposition’s Unitary Democratic Platform (PUD) agreed in a meeting in Caracas to “recognise and support the leadership of Maria Corina Machado”.

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The coalition also renewed its demand for free elections in Venezuela, following a series of contested presidential votes in 2024 and 2018.

Sunday’s statement included 14 proposals for a democratic transition, including freedom for political parties, the release of all political prisoners and the safe return of those who went into exile.

The announcement also increases pressure on authorities to allow Machado’s return. She has been living in exile since leaving Venezuela last December to receive her Nobel Prize.

“The will of the Venezuelans must once again govern the destiny of our nation,” the opposition’s former presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez wrote on social media supporting the proposals.

“We will not accept political prisoners, persecution or a governing power that disregards the mandate of its citizens. Living in freedom and under a genuine constitutional order is a legitimate demand of our society.”

Venezuela has yet to declare a date for a new presidential vote. Since January 3, the country has been led by interim President Delcy Rodriguez of the long-governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).

PSUV leaders have been accused of carrying out human rights abuses against political dissidents, including arbitrary arrest, imprisonment and torture.

Still, after the United States launched a military operation to abduct and jail former President Nicolas Maduro, the PSUV has remained in power with the support of the White House.

US President Donald Trump has backed Rodriguez’s leadership, despite her having been Maduro’s vice president.

His administration has maintained an active role in Venezuela, exerting control over its oil resources and pressuring the Rodriguez government for reforms.

But critics point out that Trump has been reluctant to push Rodriguez for new elections, opting instead for a three-phase plan that focuses first on stabilising the country and economic recovery before pursuing a political transition.

Machado, meanwhile, has told The Financial Times she would like to see Venezuela hold elections by July next year.

“The US government and the Venezuelan people all agree ⁠⁠that the only way to make ⁠⁠this sustainable and ⁠⁠a real victory is to turn Venezuela into a stable democracy,” she told the newspaper earlier this month.

Venezuelan authorities blocked Machado’s repeated attempts to return to the country, according to her party, Vente Venezuela.

Machado has also reportedly attempted to petition the Trump administration for help re-entering Venezuela.

Separately, she gifted Trump her Nobel Peace Prize in January, during a visit to Washington, DC. Media reports, however, have suggested friction between the Trump administration and Machado.

In interviews with Reuters and Axios, US administration officials have anonymously expressed frustration with the opposition leader’s repeated efforts to return home, particularly after a pair of deadly earthquakes in Venezuela last July.

Axios quoted one official as calling Machado’s push “political opportunism”.

Machado, however, remains one of the most popular figures in Venezuela’s opposition.

In October 2023, Machado won the opposition coalition’s presidential primary, but in January 2024, Venezuela’s courts blocked her from running in the upcoming race.

The courts upheld a 15-year ban on her holding public office, reportedly due to her support of US sanctions against the Maduro government.

Gonzalez ultimately replaced Machado as the opposition candidate in the 2024 race. Maduro claimed victory for a third term as Venezuela’s president in that election cycle, despite widespread criticism that the vote did not meet democratic standards.

The opposition released vote tallies that appeared to show Gonzalez had won the race.

The US had recognised Gonzalez as the country’s rightful president-elect and denied the legitimacy of Maduro’s election claims.

Machado was previously removed from the National Assembly in 2014, due to her activism against the Venezuelan government.

A third round of talks between the Rodriguez government and the opposition began in Venezuela this month.

But instead of including Machado, the negotiations have involved members of the 2015 National Assembly, which was led by the opposition and dissolved under Maduro.

Still, in a statement this month, the US State Department praised the talks as aiding the Venezuelan government’s reform.

“Political reconciliation talks between the interim Venezuelan government and 2015 National Assembly representatives are producing tangible reforms in civil liberties and political rights, laying the groundwork for credible elections and a democratic transition,” the State Department said.

这位流亡的诺贝尔奖得主已向委内瑞拉请愿，要求重新举行选举并允许她返回该国。

2026年5月23日，在巴拿马城，示威者举着标语和委内瑞拉国旗，声援玛丽亚·科琳娜·马查多。[Enea Lebrun/Getty Images]

委内瑞拉反对党联盟重申了对流亡的诺贝尔和平奖获得者玛丽亚·科琳娜·马查多作为其领导人的承诺。

周日，反对派统一民主平台（PUD）成员在加拉加斯的一次会议上同意“承认和支持玛丽亚·科琳娜·马查多的领导地位”。

美国解除对委内瑞拉最高立法者的制裁（共3项制裁名单，第1项）

委内瑞拉总统马杜罗对美国提出的酷刑阴谋指控拒不不认罪（共3项指控，此为第2项）。

问题 3（共 3 题）：为什么拉丁美洲国家要与以色列建立更紧密的联系？

在委内瑞拉2024年和2018年发生一系列有争议的总统选举之后，该联盟再次要求在委内瑞拉举行自由选举。

周日的声明包含了 14 项民主过渡提案，包括给予政党自由、释放所有政治犯以及让流亡者安全返回家园。

这一声明也加大了当局允许马查多回国的压力。自去年12月离开委内瑞拉领取诺贝尔奖以来，她一直流亡海外。

“委内瑞拉人民的意志必须再次主宰我们国家的命运，”反对派前总统候选人埃德蒙多·冈萨雷斯在社交媒体上写道，以支持这些提议。

“我们绝不接受政治犯、迫害或无视公民意愿的统治政权。生活在自由和真正的宪政秩序下，是我们社会的正当诉求。”

委内瑞拉尚未宣布举行新一届总统选举的日期。自1月3日以来，该国一直由长期执政的委内瑞拉统一社会主义党（PSUV）的临时总统德尔西·罗德里格斯领导。

保加利亚统一社会主义党（PSUV）领导人被指控对政治异见人士实施侵犯人权的行为，包括任意逮捕、监禁和酷刑。

尽管如此，在美国发动军事行动绑架并监禁前总统尼古拉斯·马杜罗之后，在白宫的支持下，统一社会主义党仍然掌权。

尽管罗德里格斯曾是马杜罗的副总统，但美国总统唐纳德·特朗普仍然支持她的领导地位。

他的政府一直积极参与委内瑞拉事务，控制着该国的石油资源，并向罗德里格斯政府施压要求进行改革。

但批评人士指出，特朗普一直不愿推动罗德里格斯举行新的选举，而是选择了一个分三阶段进行的计划，首先侧重于稳定国家局势和经济复苏，然后再进行政治过渡。

与此同时，马查多告诉《金融时报》，她希望委内瑞拉能在明年7月之前举行选举。

“美国政府和委内瑞拉人民一致认为，要使这一目标得以持续并取得真正的胜利，唯一的办法就是将委内瑞拉变成一个稳定的民主国家，”她本月初告诉该报。

据马查多的政党“委内瑞拉销售党”称，委内瑞拉当局阻止了马查多多次返回该国的尝试。

据报道，马查多还曾试图向特朗普政府请愿，请求帮助其重新进入委内瑞拉。

此外，今年1月访问华盛顿特区期间，她将诺贝尔和平奖赠予了特朗普。然而，媒体报道暗示特朗普政府与马查多之间存在摩擦。

美国政府官员在接受路透社和 Axios 采访时匿名表示，他们对反对派领导人一再试图返回家园感到不满，尤其是在去年 7 月委内瑞拉发生两起致命地震之后。

Axios援引一位官员的话说，马查多的推动是“政治投机”。

然而，马查多仍然是委内瑞拉反对派中最受欢迎的人物之一。

2023 年 10 月，马查多赢得了反对派联盟的总统初选，但 2024 年 1 月，委内瑞拉法院阻止她参加即将到来的选举。

据报道，法院维持了对她15年内不得担任公职的禁令，原因是她支持美国对马杜罗政府的制裁。

冈萨雷斯最终取代马查多成为2024年总统大选的反对派候选人。尽管外界普遍批评此次选举不符合民主标准，马杜罗仍宣称在该次选举中获胜，将第三次担任委内瑞拉总统。

反对派公布的计票结果似乎显示冈萨雷斯赢得了选举。

美国承认冈萨雷斯是该国合法当选总统，并否认马杜罗的选举主张的合法性。

马查多曾于 2014 年因其反对委内瑞拉政府的活动而被逐出国民议会。

本月，罗德里格斯政府与反对派在委内瑞拉开始了第三轮谈判。

但谈判参与者并非马查多，而是 2015 年国民议会的成员，该议会由反对派领导，并在马杜罗执政期间解散。

不过，美国国务院本月发表声明，称赞这些会谈有助于委内瑞拉政府进行改革。

美国国务院表示：“委内瑞拉临时政府与2015年国民议会代表之间的政治和解谈判正在公民自由和政治权利方面取得切实进展，为可信的选举和民主过渡奠定了基础。”