{"text":[[{"start":14.94,"text":"Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado has returned to Venezuela, posing a challenge to the country’s US-backed interim government. "}],[{"start":24.439999999999998,"text":"“I am here. "},{"start":25.743999999999996,"text":"With you all,” Machado wrote in a post on X on Sunday, without giving details of how she arrived in Venezuela after nearly 10 months outside the country. "}],[{"start":35.019999999999996,"text":"Machado’s communications team said on Sunday that she had arrived at a church in the western state of Lara and shared images of last year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner embracing members of a church congregation. "}],[{"start":46.25,"text":"Machado left Venezuela in 2025 to collect her Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo and, after several months in Washington, has been based in Panama City since June. "}],[{"start":56.55,"text":"Machado’s return to Venezuela presents the biggest test of the Trump administration’s policy towards Venezuela and the relationship it has developed with the government in Caracas, led by former vice-president Delcy Rodríguez. "}],[{"start":68.96,"text":"The administration has repeatedly said it wants to see a political transition after US forces arrested Venezuela’s revolutionary socialist president Nicolás Maduro on January 3, though it has stopped short of outlining a timetable for elections. "}],[{"start":82.78,"text":"However, it has developed strong ties with Rodríguez, who has opened the country’s resources sector up to US investment and who has approved a controversial deal that gives the Pentagon a 35 per cent stake in a company which controls a substantial portion of Venezuela’s oil reserves. "}],[{"start":97.57,"text":"Machado is likely to use her presence in the country to push for new elections in the country, complicating the US-led negotiation process on a transition to democracy. "},{"start":106.512,"text":"If she is arrested or harassed by the Venezuelan authorities, the administration will find itself under a lot of political pressure at home to intervene on her behalf. "}],[{"start":115.58999999999999,"text":"In a statement on X, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said that Machado’s return was a result of the political talks the US has sponsored in Venezuela, which he said were the country’s “best chance in 30 years” to have free and fair elections. "},{"start":128.557,"text":"He said the US expects “the freedom of all sectors of Venezuelan politics” to be respected. "}],[{"start":134.54999999999998,"text":"Hours after Maduro was captured, Donald Trump backed Rodríguez to open Venezuela’s vast oil and mineral wealth to foreign investment. "},{"start":142.017,"text":"He said in a press conference on January 3 that Machado had “no support” inside the country. "}],[{"start":147.92,"text":"During their first meeting in January, Machado gifted Trump her Nobel award medal, which he has long coveted. "}],[{"start":154.85999999999999,"text":"The US president appeared blindsided by Machado’s return to Venezuela on Sunday, telling reporters that he “did not know about that”. "}],[{"start":162.82999999999998,"text":"“She gave me her Nobel Prize, so how can I say anything else? ”"},{"start":166.74699999999999,"text":"Trump said. "},{"start":167.839,"text":"“And I hope she’s safe, she’s a very nice woman, but we’re doing really well in Venezuela. ”"}],[{"start":173.67999999999998,"text":"Machado made at least seven unsuccessful attempts to return to Venezuela, according to her team, with three thwarted within 24 hours last month as Trump met Rodríguez on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 22. "}],[{"start":187.39,"text":"Machado told the FT earlier this month that it was the Rodríguez government that was blocking her return, rather than Washington. "}],[{"start":194.86999999999998,"text":"“It’s obvious that the regime does not want me to go back,” Machado said. "},{"start":199.14899999999997,"text":"“The US understands that my presence in Venezuela would be a strong signal that the transition plan is working. ”"}],[{"start":205.33999999999997,"text":"Machado remains the country’s most popular politician, with a September survey by local polling group Meganálisis finding that she would win 61.2 per cent of the vote against Rodríguez’s 3.1 per cent in an election. "}],[{"start":218.48999999999998,"text":"David Smolansky, a Venezuelan opposition figure and adviser to Machado on foreign policy, said that her return marked “a major step towards a democratic transition and free, fair and verifiable presidential elections in the near future”. "}],[{"start":232.04999999999998,"text":"“This is a moment for Delcy Rodríguez to show the international community that things are changing in Venezuela, pure and simple,” said Jason Marczak, director of the Latin America centre at the Atlantic Council in Washington DC. "}],[{"start":244.89,"text":"Members of the opposition and Machado’s supporters have become increasingly frustrated with elements of the US approach to Caracas, including the recent deal to hand over part of the country’s oil reserves to a billionaire close to the Maduro regime. "}],[{"start":257.9,"text":"On Thursday, thousands of Machado’s supporters demonstrated in cities across the country to demand the opposition leader’s return. "}],[{"start":265.25,"text":"“I’m here for my country’s freedom and to demand María Corina’s return,” said Zulay Martínez, a lawyer at the protest in Caracas. "}],[{"start":273.65,"text":"“It’s simple: we want democracy and the return of María Corina,” said José Morales, a retiree holding a placard in support of Machado. "}],[{"start":282.65,"text":"Machado’s return comes amid negotiations between the government and another opposition faction, which concluded their third round last week with an agreement to lift political bans, including the one barring Machado from office. "}],[{"start":294.2,"text":"Before leaving Venezuela, Machado had been in hiding in Venezuela since August 2024, when Maduro cracked down on dissent in the wake of his disputed re-election. "}],[{"start":304.3,"text":"Machado, who was barred from running in that election, oversaw an independently verified tally of votes that showed her stand-in, Edmundo González, defeating Maduro by a margin of two to one. "}],[{"start":315.89,"text":"In a message on X confirming Machado’s arrival in Venezuela, González said he would join her “very soon”. "}],[{"start":322.21,"text":"“Today is a very important day for Venezuelans,” González wrote. "},{"start":326.31399999999996,"text":"“Our sovereign voice returns with her to lead and guide this process! ”"}],[{"start":330.65,"text":"Additional reporting by Aime Williams in Washington "}],[{"start":333.65999999999997,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1792986055_3621.mp3"}