Trump says Iran decision is near as US strike options are readiedLula wins fourth term as Bolsonaro refuses to concedeStudent List wins Serbian election as Vučić concedesHouthis keep striking Saudi Arabia as Riyadh airport partly reopensNearly 1,300 arrests in France as protests spread to Spain and ItalyIsrael heads into deadlocked election as Trump again backs NetanyahuIsrael seals West Bank for election as Hebron displacement growsMachado returns to Venezuela, challenging US-backed interim governmentMass drone strikes kill civilians in Ukraine and RussiaTrilateral Ukraine talks planned for November as Oleshky truce nearsCongo begins Ebola vaccine trial as Uganda orders quarantine for returneesMali military raises attack death toll to 54Dozens killed as gunmen on motorcycles raid Nigerian villageChina opens fifth plenum with Xi set to tighten party disciplineThousands mourn Jordan church attack victims as gunmen remain at largeAudi to build $4.2bn US plant, announced at Trump rallyKim Jong Un makes surprise China trip as Pyongyang calls landmine incident a fabricationBrent eases from six-month high as Iran risk keeps energy markets tightSpaceX closes $40bn debt financing for AI chipsAI spending fears weigh on stocks and credit ahead of earnings weekObama attacks Trump as Justice Department defends Alaska Senate suitIsraeli strikes kill several in Gaza, including at Islamic UniversitySingapore urges suppliers to honour gas contracts as haze probe widensDrilling rig sinks off Gabon with five missingKenya bus crash kills at least 22 church mournersBulgaria's presidential vote heads to run-off as turnout hits record lowAlgeria approves first foreign troop deployment since 1973, to NigerFrench bond rout sits at heart of ECB succession fightUS and Canada near tariff deal, Trump saysStorms Boelo and Austen cut power to 150,000 homes in northern EuropeUK PM Burnham open to revisiting EU free movementLe Pen launches 2027 presidential bid amid protestsUAE closes more beaches over Gulf oil slickJapanese firms compensate customers after cyberattacksPolice officer suspended as Tirana protests turn violentMusk and Kyiv dispute Starlink terms after service resumesHaiti remains may be missing Salvadoran soldiersTrump says Iran decision is near as US strike options are readiedLula wins fourth term as Bolsonaro refuses to concedeStudent List wins Serbian election as Vučić concedesHouthis keep striking Saudi Arabia as Riyadh airport partly reopensNearly 1,300 arrests in France as protests spread to Spain and ItalyIsrael heads into deadlocked election as Trump again backs NetanyahuIsrael seals West Bank for election as Hebron displacement growsMachado returns to Venezuela, challenging US-backed interim governmentMass drone strikes kill civilians in Ukraine and RussiaTrilateral Ukraine talks planned for November as Oleshky truce nearsCongo begins Ebola vaccine trial as Uganda orders quarantine for returneesMali military raises attack death toll to 54Dozens killed as gunmen on motorcycles raid Nigerian villageChina opens fifth plenum with Xi set to tighten party disciplineThousands mourn Jordan church attack victims as gunmen remain at largeAudi to build $4.2bn US plant, announced at Trump rallyKim Jong Un makes surprise China trip as Pyongyang calls landmine incident a fabricationBrent eases from six-month high as Iran risk keeps energy markets tightSpaceX closes $40bn debt financing for AI chipsAI spending fears weigh on stocks and credit ahead of earnings weekObama attacks Trump as Justice Department defends Alaska Senate suitIsraeli strikes kill several in Gaza, including at Islamic UniversitySingapore urges suppliers to honour gas contracts as haze probe widensDrilling rig sinks off Gabon with five missingKenya bus crash kills at least 22 church mournersBulgaria's presidential vote heads to run-off as turnout hits record lowAlgeria approves first foreign troop deployment since 1973, to NigerFrench bond rout sits at heart of ECB succession fightUS and Canada near tariff deal, Trump saysStorms Boelo and Austen cut power to 150,000 homes in northern EuropeUK PM Burnham open to revisiting EU free movementLe Pen launches 2027 presidential bid amid protestsUAE closes more beaches over Gulf oil slickJapanese firms compensate customers after cyberattacksPolice officer suspended as Tirana protests turn violentMusk and Kyiv dispute Starlink terms after service resumesHaiti remains may be missing Salvadoran soldiers
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Symbolic image: Machado returns to Venezuela, challenging US-backed interim governmentSymbolic image

Machado returns to Venezuela, challenging US-backed interim government

17 sources

Nobel laureate María Corina Machado said on Sunday she is back in Venezuela after nearly a year abroad. Her return tests the interim government of Delcy Rodríguez, which Washington supports.

Machado announced on Sunday, 25 October: "I'm here. With you all." Her ally Edmundo González confirmed she was on Venezuelan soil, and footage showed hundreds of supporters greeting her in Barquisimeto before she travelled by convoy toward Caracas. The Guardian saw no sign of security services interfering; she has not said how she returned. Asked about it, Trump said he knew nothing, called her "a very nice woman" and added: "we're doing very well in Venezuela." Secretary of State Marco Rubio credited US-supported reconciliation talks.

No election date

A faction of the opposition and the government are negotiating changes to the top court and electoral council, without Machado's movement. Trump said in September it was too soon for elections, while her adviser David Smolansky says she will work for a date.

Government warnings

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said on his television programme: "I'm not going to tell you what surprise I have in store for her." The government says it never opposed her return, El País reports.

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