Maria Corina Machado is a Venezuelan industrial engineer with upper-class roots who started her political career as a deputy with in Venezuela's National Assembly.

After the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Machado and other opposition lawmakers refused to recognize the victory at the polls of Chavez's protege, Nicolas Maduro.

During this time, Machado became one of the opposition's most visible leaders.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

1. VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER, MARIA CORINA MACHADO, AND THE WIFE OF OPPOSITION LEADER LEOPOLDO LOPEZ, LILIAN TINTORI, RAISING ARMS AND HUGGING EACH OTHER DURING EVENT

2. PEOPLE APPLAUDING

3. MACHADO SPEAKING ON STAGE

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

"Our objective is to achieve early presidential elections in the shortest possible time with a reliable national electoral council that respects the sovereignty of the people expressed in the vote."

In 2023, Machado announced she would run in the opposition's primary, but months ahead of the primary, the controller general banned her from holding public office for 15 years.

The ban did not affect her ability to run in the primary because the opposition held it without state support, and Machado won the election by a landslide.

Regardless, she could not register with electoral authorities to appear on the ballot in the presidential race.

CARABOBO, VENEZUELA (FILE - OCTOBER 6, 2023) (REUTERS - Access all)

5. MACHADO SHAKING HANDS WITH SUPPORTERS ON BUS / MACHADO WALKING TOWARDS BOLIVARIAN NATIONAL GUARD

6. MACHADO SPEAKING TO NATIONAL GUARD ON A BLOCKED ROAD

7. VARIOUS OF MACHADO WALKING ON PATH PARALLEL TO BLOCKED ROAD

8. MACHADO AMONG SUPPORTERS DURING RALLY

9. MACHADO BEING HELPED ONTO STAGE TO WAVE TO CROWD WAVING VENEZUELAN FLAGS

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (FILE - OCTOBER 22, 2023) (REUTERS - Access all)

10. MACHADO, THEN A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, ARRIVING AT POLLING STATION WITH HER FAMILY TO VOTE DURING OPPOSITION PRIMARIES

11. MACHADO FILLING IN BALLOT PAPER AND CASTING HER VOTE

12. MACHADO ON STAGE WITH VENEZUELAN FLAG

13. MACHADO WAVING TO SUPPORTERS

14. MACHADO SPEAKING ON STAGE

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (FILE - OCTOBER 26, 2023) (REUTERS – Access all)

15. MACHADO SHOWING A CREDENTIAL CERTIFYING HER AS THE WINNER OF THE PRIMARY ELECTIONS

16. MACHADO DURING PRESS CONFERENCE

17. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) THEN-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, MARIA CORINA MACHADO, SAYING:

"Starting now, we need to start building the house where we are moving the day we win the presidential elections 2024.”

Machado backed low-profile former diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez as the opposition's candidate to run against Maduro on the July 2024 election.

Machado and Gonzalez campaigned together, speaking to large crowds around the country.

They employed emotional rhetoric, including their hope for the many who have emigrated from Venezuela in recent years to return home.

MIRANDA, VENEZUELA (FILE - APRIL 15, 2024) (REUTERS - Access all)

18. VARIOUS OF MACHADO AMONG SUPPORTERS AND TAKING SELFIES WITH THEM

19. MACHADO BLOWING KISS TO SUPPORTERS

20. MACHADO SPEAKING ON STAGE

TACHIRA, VENEZUELA (FILE - MAY 28, 2024) (REUTERS - Access all) (NIGHT SHOTS)

21. VARIOUS OF MACHADO SUPPORTERS DURING RALLY

22. VARIOUS OF MACHADO STANDING ON TOP OF VEHICLE AND WAVING TO SUPPORTERS DURING RALLY

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (FILE - JULY 4, 2024) (REUTERS – Access all)

23. CROWD SURROUNDING VEHICLE WITH MACHADO AND LEADING OPPOSITION CANDIDATE, EDMUNDO GONZALEZ, STANDING ON TOP

24. MACHADO AND GONZALEZ ON TOP OF VEHICLE

25. VARIOUS OF MACHADO WAVING AT SUPPORTERS

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (FILE - JULY 4, 2024) (REUTERS – Access all) (NIGHT SHOTS)

26. SUPPORTERS IN STREET

27. MACHADO WAVING AT SUPPORTERS

Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Maduro winning despite never publishing the vote tallies. The opposition refuted this result by declaring Gonzalez as the winner, saying that 73% of vote tallies gathered by their supporters at polling centers nationwide showed its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez had more than twice as many votes as Maduro.

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (FILE - JULY 29, 2024) (REUTERS – Access all)

28. JOURNALISTS SURROUNDING GONZALEZ AND MACHADO

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

“Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia got 70% of the votes in this election, and Nicolas Maduro received 30% of the votes. This is the truth and, my dear Venezuelans, this is the Venezuelan election with the largest margin of victory in history. Congratulations, Edmundo.”

The opposition called on its supporters to protest peacefully against the CNE's election result.

More than 2,000 people were arrested for taking part in protests after the contest, according to the government.

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (FILE - AUGUST 3, 2024) (REUTERS - Access all)

30. VEHICLE CARRYING MACHADO MOVING AMONG SUPPORTERS

31. MACHADO WAVING TO SUPPORTERS AND HOLDING VENEZUELAN FLAG

32. VEHICLE CARRYING MACHADO MOVING AMONG SUPPORTERS

After the election, Venezuela’s Attorney General, Tarek Saab, launched criminal probes into Machado, Gonzalez and the website where the opposition posted its copies of ballot box-level vote tallies.

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (AUGUST 27, 2024) (REUTERS – Access all)

33. MACHADO TALKING DURING VIDEOCALL INTERVIEW

Gonzalez flew into Spain in September 2024 to seek asylum.

Shortly after, Machado announced she would remain in Venezuela.

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (FILE - SEPTEMBER 9, 2024) (REUTERS – Access all)

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

“Some of you made comments about my situation, I think everyone understands it, obviously if anything changes the departure of Edmundo from some perspective is that it may increase the risk, about what I do not know. But in any case, I have decided to stay in Venezuela and accompany the fight from here while he does it from abroad with actions that he now can do directly and not digitally as we have been doing so far.”

On December 2024, European Parliament awarded Gonzalez and Machado the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

Machado was represented at the ceremony by her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa.

STRASBOURG, FRANCE (FILE - DECEMBER 17, 2024) (EUROPEAN UNION - Access all)

35. VARIOUS OF EU PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT, ROBERTA METSOLA, HANDING OVER AWARD TO GONZALEZ AND MACHADO'S DAUGHTER, ANA CORINA SOSA / GONZALEZ, METSOLA AND SOSA POSING FOR PHOTOS

36. EUROPEAN UNION PARLIAMENT CHAMBER WITH MACHADO ON SCREENS AND BEING INTRODUCED TO LAWMAKERS

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (FILE - DECEMBER 17, 2024) (EUROPEAN UNION - Access all)

37. MACHADO SPEAKING TO LAWMAKERS IN EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

STRASBOURG, FRANCE (FILE - DECEMBER 17, 2024) (EUROPEAN UNION - Access all)

38. VARIOUS OF SCREEN SHOWING MACHADO SPEAKING / EU LAWMAKERS APPLAUDING

UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION (FILE - FEBRUARY 3, 2025) (@VENTEVENEZUELA - Must on screen courtesy '@VenteVenezuela')

46. MACHADO SPEAKING DURING INTERVIEW

Machado appeared in public on January 9, 2025, after months in hiding, joining a protest in Caracas against the inauguration of President Maduro for his third term.

Her appearance marked her first public outing since August, when she went into hiding at an unknown location.

After her appearance, Machado was briefly detained before being released.

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (FILE - JANUARY 9, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

47. VARIOUS OF MACHADO STANDING ON VEHICLE SURROUNDED BY SUPPORTERS AND MEMBERS OF MEDIA

48. MACHADO WAVING TO SUPPORTERS AND HOLDING VENEZUELAN FLAG

49. MACHADO HOLDING FLOWERS AND WAVING TO CROWD

50. MACHADO SPEAKING TO CROWD

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

"What they will do tomorrow will be the end of the regime. If they commit this crime against the constitution and the sovereignty of the people, it will be the end of them."

UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION (FILE - JUNE 17, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

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

"Every time Chavez (former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez) had an economic or political problem, who came to his aid? Syria; where is (former President Bashar) al-Assad today? Russia; what capacity does Russia have to give money or support to Maduro? Iran, Cuba? We're talking about a situation that has never happened before where all of Maduro's international allies are experiencing their worst crises in decades."

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (FILE - JANUARY 9, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

53. MACHADO WEARING A BLACK JACKET AND HELMET GESTURING WITH HER FIST / WALKING AMONG PEOPLE AND BEING ESCORTED BY BODYGUARD

54. MACHADO ON MOTORCYCLE IN MIDDLE OF CROWD