Hundreds of Venezuelan opposition supporters have rallied in Caracas and other cities to demand the return of Nobel laureate Maria Corina Machado and presidential elections they say could begin a democratic transition.
Activists wearing sky-blue shirts associated with Machado’s Vente Venezuela party travelled by motorcycle through the capital on Sunday, sounding their horns and waving Venezuelan flags. Demonstrations were also reported in the state capitals of Valencia, Maracaibo and Merida.
“This is not a matter of parties or politics,” Flavio Valentini, a Vente Venezuela activist in Caracas, told the crowd through a megaphone. “This is a movement for the people and by the people.”
Machado has been living in exile for nine months after repeated attempts to return to Venezuela were unsuccessful. Her supporters accuse the government of preventing her re-entry, a claim denied by the authorities.
Vente Venezuela said the opposition leader made three unsuccessful attempts to return on Monday night. Anthony Romero, a leader of the party in Caracas, said supporters hoped the country’s transition would lead to elections and a democratic government.
“We hope this transition process leads us to presidential elections and consolidates a free, democratic country that will be the main ally of the United States,” he said.
Venezuela election hopes
The government has been accused of manipulating elections, imprisoning dissidents and restricting freedom of speech. More than three dozen political prisoners were released late last week after a second round of US-backed talks between the interim government and the opposition.
Machado was barred by the courts from standing in Venezuela’s last presidential election. Her replacement candidate is widely believed to have won almost two-thirds of the vote, but former president Nicolas Maduro claimed victory.
His government then launched a violent crackdown on opponents who protested against the official result, forcing Machado and dozens of other opposition leaders into hiding. Machado later left Venezuela after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to restore democracy.
US special forces abducted Maduro from his home in Caracas in January, but Machado has remained unable to return. The country is now led by Delcy Rodriguez, a Maduro ally who has opened the oil industry to foreign investment and is working closely with the administration of US President Donald Trump.
Ms Rodriguez told the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday that Venezuela would hold elections as part of a transition to “full democracy”, but gave no date for the vote.
