Opposition leader Machado returns to Venezuela

Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado returned to her home country Sunday after almost a year in exile, greeting ecstatic supporters at a church in the city of Barquisimeto. "I am here. With you," Machado announced in Spanish on X. Video shared by her Vente party showed the leader, in a trademark white tee-shirt and blue jeans, embracing cheering supporters at a church. "Venezuela will be free!" the party said. Machado's return is likely to heap pressure on interim president Delcy Rodriguez, who has led the country under Washington's watchful eye since US forces ousted longtime leader Nicolas Maduro in January. A close ally of Machado, exiled opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, reposted her message and said: "Venezuela! I am thrilled to announce to you that our leader, my dear Maria Corina, is on Venezuelan soil." "Very soon I will be with you all and her so that our country can truly advance toward freedom," he added. Gonzalez Urrutia stood against Maduro in the 2024 presidential election after Machado was ruled ineligible. Venezuelan authorities declared Maduro the winner but never shared detailed results, while a tally released by the opposition showed Gonzalez Urrutia winning easily. Machado, 59, has been in exile since covertly...