Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado returned to her home country on Sunday after more than 10 months abroad.

Machado posted on X early Sunday, stating, “I am here. With you.” Images shared by her party showed her attending a Mass at the Church of Santa Rosa in Lara state, where supporters greeted her.

Her return comes after at least seven unsuccessful attempts in recent months, according to her advisers. Those efforts included travel from the United States, Panama, and Curaçao by various routes, many reportedly blocked by Venezuelan authorities.

Former opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, who remains in exile, confirmed the news on social media and said he would join her “very soon.” He described the day as “very important for Venezuelans” and noted that “our sovereign voice returns with her to lead and guide this process.”

Machado left Venezuela clandestinely in December 2025 to accept the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway for her work promoting democratic rights. U.S. forces captured then-President Nicolás Maduro in January 2026 and removed him from power. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez has remained in office beyond her authorized interim period, with no presidential election scheduled.

U.S. President Donald Trump, when asked about the return, said he was unaware of the details but praised Machado. “She gave me her Nobel Prize, so how can I say anything else? And I hope she’s safe,” Trump stated.

The development tests the current political arrangements in Venezuela, where the U.S. has focused on economic stabilization alongside the transition process as Machado and her allies continue to call for free and fair elections.