Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Thursday (October 29) the United States has suggested the country hold presidential elections next year, a timeline she has previously supported, in her first substantive remarks since returning last weekend.

Machado's return to Venezuela risks straining her ties with the administration of US President Donald Trump, which captured then-President Nicolas Maduro in a January raid. Maduro is facing US drug trafficking and torture charges, which he denies.

Washington has said Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has every right to be in Venezuela, but Trump has also praised acting President Delcy Rodriguez. The Trump administration supports negotiations between the Rodriguez government and opposition groups which do not include Machado's Vente Venezuela movement on overhauling Venezuela's electoral council and top court before the next elections.

Machado thanked Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for their roles in Maduro's ouster and said the relationship between the two countries is one of mutual respect and in both nations' best interests.

The opposition leader added she was pleased Rodriguez, in remarks earlier in the day, had also backed elections and that those who help the country transition back to democracy will need guarantees. Machado said a transitional justice process, a truth commission and a revamp of state security forces are necessary.

Machado, 59, returned to Venezuela on Sunday after several failed attempts this year. She was barred from running in the 2024 election but her proxy roundly won, according to tallies provided by the opposition at the time. Venezuela's institutions, however, backed Maduro.

Venezuela needs transparent contracts, open bidding for public deals and international arbitration to ensure investors and the Venezuelan people receive the most from future investments, Machado said.

Rodriguez's interim government has signed deals with a variety of companies interested in oil, gas and mining with support from the US. They include a deal between North American Blue Energy Partners and the US government to export production from 17 Venezuelan fields.

Machado said NABEP's contract, which she has not seen, "evidently does not reflect the levels of transparency that Venezuelan society wants."

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (OCTOBER 29, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. OPPOSITION LEADER, MARIA CORINA MACHADO, TALKING WITH STUDENTS AT ANDRES BELLO CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY (UCAB)

2. MACHADO ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE

3. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) OPPOSITION LEADER, MARIA CORINA MACHADO, SAYING:

"I want to thank the president of the United States Donald Trump, the government of the United States and Secretary of State Marco Rubio because thanks to his vision and his courage, and his action on January 3, this gateway to freedom has been opened, which will allow Venezuela to advance in a democratic transition and consolidate our country as the greatest ally the United States will ever have had in our region."

4. VARIOUS OF MACHADO SPEAKING DURING NEWS CONFERENCE

5. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) OPPOSITION LEADER, MARIA CORINA MACHADO, SAYING:

"I have returned therefore to mobilise society, to contribute, to further organise all our teams and citizen networks, to listen to every citizen, to incorporate all sectors, all organisations, political and civil, in the construction of this new country project, this new republic that is emerging, and I have returned to finish a task and fulfil a mandate."

6. MACHADO SPEAKING DURING NEWS CONFERENCE

7. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) OPPOSITION LEADER, MARIA CORINA MACHADO, SAYING:

"Secretary of State Marco Rubio has outlined a sequence of events in order to advance towards a democratic transition that makes clear the holding of presidential elections in 2027, that responsibly addresses the urgency of a country."

8. MACHADO SPEAKING DURING NEWS CONFERENCE

9. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) OPPOSITION LEADER, MARIA CORINA MACHADO, SAYING:

"I have never spoken with President Lula, never, that is the reality, the absolute truth, and I believe it has not been for lack of interest on my part."

10. VARIOUS OF MACHADO SPEAKING DURING NEWS CONFERENCE

11. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) OPPOSITION LEADER, MARIA CORINA MACHADO, SAYING:

"I do not know the contract (REFERRING TO: contract with oil company NABEP), I don't know it. I haven't seen it, I don't think any Venezuelan, at least in this auditorium, has, and if something is good for Venezuela, but also good for our allies, it is a system of absolute transparency in which Venezuelans can know down to the last letter all the agreements that are carried out in our country."

12. MACHADO SPEAKING DURING NEWS CONFERENCE

13. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) OPPOSITION LEADER, MARIA CORINA MACHADO, SAYING:

"So I think it is very good that Mrs. Delcy Rodriguez today, she said it, that there are going to be elections, well I think the effect of Sunday the 25th (of October, REFERRING TO: the effect of Maria Corina's arrival) is being felt."

14. MACHADO SPEAKING DURING NEWS CONFERENCE

15. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) OPPOSITION LEADER, MARIA CORINA MACHADO, SAYING:

"We have a relationship of great respect and recognition and I am absolutely convinced that in the interest of the people of the United States, of the national security of its country and of the whole hemisphere, is to advance in an orderly transition, and obviously it is much more than an election date, much more."

16. MACHADO SPEAKING DURING NEWS CONFERENCE

17. MACHADO SAYING GOODBYE AT END OF EVENT