MADRID – On a Saturday during her multi-nation European tour, exiled Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado gathered thousands of supporters at a rally in Madrid’s iconic Puerta del Sol, while confirming she had turned down a planned meeting with Spain’s progressive Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The timing of the rejection carried sharp political irony: the same day Sánchez was hosting a high-profile summit of progressive leaders from across the globe who share his ideological alignment.
Unlike Sánchez, who has long been an outspoken critic of former U.S. President Donald Trump, Machado has openly praised Trump’s January action that ousted long-time Venezuelan authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro. Earlier this year, the opposition figure even awarded Trump her nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, a step she says she has no regrets over, despite the Trump administration having largely sidelined her pro-democracy advocacy efforts.
In comments to reporters after the rally, Machado justified her refusal to meet Sánchez, arguing that the proceedings of his Barcelona gathering of global progressive leaders made any such meeting inappropriate. She had previously stated her firm intention to return to Venezuela to continue her political work, though she declined to share specific details of when or how the return would be carried out, while openly acknowledging the immense challenges that would accompany any homecoming under current circumstances.
Machado’s European tour has already included meetings with top leaders from France, Italy and the Netherlands, and it unfolds against a shifting political landscape in Venezuelan opposition circles. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez has remained in her temporary role beyond the original 90-day deadline set for her position, and the U.S. government has recently relaxed a number of sanctions targeting Rodríguez. Machado has been openly critical of Rodríguez’s leadership, framing her interim government as a force that perpetuates “chaos, violence and terror” in the country. She has repeatedly reaffirmed her commitment to holding free, democratic elections in Venezuela, saying she is confident such a transition is coming.
Maintaining close ties to the former U.S. administration, Machado confirmed she is in permanent contact with Trump administration officials and says she trusts Washington’s phased approach to Venezuela following Maduro’s ouster. She went so far as to single out Trump as the only global head of state that has risked his own countrymen’s well-being to advance Venezuelan freedom, referencing the U.S. military operation carried out in January.
The rally itself was backed by prominent local conservative opposition figure Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the regional leader of Madrid who is one of Sánchez’s most vocal domestic critics. Ayuso formally welcomed Machado earlier the same day before the main public gathering.
Spain is home to more than 600,000 Venezuelan migrants, the largest concentration of Venezuelan people outside of the Americas. Most of these residents fled to Spain to escape political persecution, widespread violence, and Venezuela’s crippling economic collapse, with a majority settling in the capital city of Madrid.
Among the attendees was 27-year-old Venezuelan migrant Grehlsy Peñuela, who says she still pins her hopes for her home country on Machado and her eventual return to Caracas. Peñuela carried signs bearing the photos of her two cousins, who she says are still being held as political prisoners in the Venezuelan capital. Like many migrant supporters at the rally, she says she would only consider returning to Venezuela if one condition is met: the full resignation of the country’s current ruling government.