PANAMA CITY, Panama (AP) — Venezuelan opposition figure and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado declared Saturday her intention to seek the presidency once more and expects to return to Venezuela by the close of 2026.
Speaking during a gathering with other Venezuelan opposition figures in Panama, Machado’s announcement comes over four months following the White House’s surprising choice to distance itself from her and instead collaborate with a loyalist from Venezuela’s ruling party after the U.S. military detained former President Nicolás Maduro.
Machado has remained in exile since December, after surfacing from nearly a year of hiding within Venezuela and departing for Norway to receive the Nobel prize.
During her remarks to journalists in Panama City, she stated that she and fellow opposition leaders present continue their dedication to achieving a democratic transition “through free and fair presidential elections, where all Venezuelans inside and outside the country vote.”
However, the timing of Venezuela’s next presidential election remains uncertain.
U.S. President Donald Trump and top administration figures have commended acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who succeeded Maduro and has opened Venezuela’s petroleum sector to American investment during a period of rising oil costs linked to conflict in Iran.
The Trump administration has also reduced discussion of elections, despite Venezuela’s constitutional requirement for such contests within 30 days when a president becomes “permanently unavailable.”
According to Machado, organizing an election under democratic standards would require seven to nine months of preparation. Essential reforms include selecting impartial electoral officials, updating voter registration systems, and ensuring opposition candidates can campaign without government obstruction.
Machado emerged as Maduro’s most formidable challenger in recent years, though his administration prevented her candidacy in the 2024 presidential race, prompting her to select former ambassador Edmundo González Urrutia as her ballot representative.
Ruling party officials proclaimed Maduro victorious just hours after voting ended, yet Machado’s organized campaign gathered documentation demonstrating González had won against Maduro by more than a 2-to-1 ratio.
On Saturday, she informed reporters of her readiness to face any presidential contender in “an impeccable election.”
“I will be a candidate, but there may be others, of course,” she said. “I would love to compete with everyone, with anyone who wants to be a candidate.”
