Key facts
- US has suggested presidential elections in Venezuela take place in 2027.
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio backed a 2027 vote.
- Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado returned to Venezuela on Sunday.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Thursday that the United States has suggested presidential elections in the country take place in 2027. Machado, who returned to Venezuela over the weekend, stated that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio backed the 2027 timeline. Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has previously supported such a timeline and vowed to ensure all eligible Venezuelans can vote. She returned to Venezuela on Sunday after multiple failed attempts this year. Machado, the country's most popular opposition figure, was barred from running in the 2024 election, though her proxy won that contest. Venezuela's institutions, however, backed President Nicolas Maduro, who was later arrested in a US raid and faces drug trafficking and torture charges, which he denies. Machado thanked Rubio and Trump for their role in Maduro's ouster.