The opposition leader María Corina Machado will return to Venezuela “in the coming days,” her party Vente Venezuela (VV) reiterated this Saturday, without specifying a return date for the leader who left the country last December to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. “We are going to organize because a change is coming to Venezuela soon, we are going to organize for the arrival of María Corina Machado, who must be in the country in the short term,” stated Henry Alviárez, national coordinator of organization for VV, during the reopening of ‘El Bejucal’, the party's headquarters in Caracas. Alviáres called on party members and supporters to prepare and organize to await Machado's arrival in the South American country. “María Corina is going to arrive in Venezuela in the coming days, she will announce it herself, and she is going to arrive to exercise her full citizen's right,” insisted the leader, without specifying a date for this return. Likewise, Alviáres considered it “imperative” to call for elections due to what he considered an “absolute lack” of a presidency, which Delcy Rodríguez is exercising as acting president following the capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces during the military attack on January 3. In statements to the press, the leader stated that with political will, it is possible to change the country's institutional framework to organize elections before the end of this year, and he advocated for all political parties to be able to participate so that the population can vote freely. “We must open up to everyone, let everyone compete, and then meet again in recognition, respecting the majority will of the citizen,” he added. In early March, Alviáres announced that Machado will tour the country upon her arrival, without detailing dates, and Machado herself stated in a video posted on social media that she would travel to the South American country “in a few weeks.” However, during a visit to Santiago de Chile on March 12, the opposition leader stated that her intention is to return to Venezuela “soon,” but indicated that this return will occur “harmoniously and in coordination with allies.” Machado left Venezuela last December to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway after spending a year in hiding to avoid arrest by the country's authorities, who have accused her of violence and calling for a military invasion.
