Venezuela's Machado to hold Madrid rally as opposition frozen out after Maduro capture [View all]

Source: The Guardian

Venezuela’s Machado to hold Madrid rally as opposition frozen out after Maduro capture

Exiled leader to revive push for change amid US backing of Delcy Rodríguez and delays to democratic transition

Tom Phillips, and Sam Jones in Madrid
Sat 18 Apr 2026 09.00 BST
Last modified on Sat 18 Apr 2026 09.01 BST

Venezuela’s opposition leader, María Corina Machado, will seek to revive her push for political change with a rally in Madrid on Saturday, having found herself sidelined by Donald Trump after the abduction of the president Nicolás Maduro.

“Venezuela will be free,” the Nobel peace prize winner insisted in an interview on the eve of this weekend’s demonstration in the Puerta del Sol square, which is expected to draw tens of thousands of protesters.

Supporters had hoped Machado, whose movement is widely believed to have beaten Maduro in Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election, would take power after US troops captured her autocratic rival on 3 January. Instead, Trump backed Maduro’s vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, in exchange for concessions involving Venezuela’s vast oil and mineral resources.

“We’re very happy with the president-elect that we have right now,” Trump said earlier this month, despite Rodríguez not having been elected.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/18/venezuelas-machado-to-hold-madrid-rally-as-opposition-frozen-out-after-maduro-capture