Delcy Rodríguez visited Aragua and Carabobo, states through which Machado passed on her way to Caracas on Sunday. Photo: Minci
Machado entered Venezuela without announcing it and via the "green roads." Already in the country, she reappeared in the state of Lara on Sunday, October 25, and by road set off for Caracas in a caravan, surrounded by supporters who showed her support throughout the journey, state by state.
From the interim government there was no official response to the arrival of the opposition leader, who had spent more than ten months in exile, throughout the entire day on Sunday. Only deputy (Psuv) Jorge Arreaza reacted, with a laughing emoji, to those on the X network who claimed that Machado had returned without Miraflores or the United States finding out.
The official reaction came past midday on Monday, October 26. First from interim president Delcy Rodríguez and then from the head of the ruling party and Minister of Interior and Justice, Diosdado Cabello.
Rodríguez dismissed the return of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner as a "show" for not using Maiquetía airport for her arrival. Cabello, in line with the interim president, said it is proof that in Venezuela there is "no political persecution," while also reviving the narrative of "fascism" and "destabilization" with which he links Machado. That night, a photograph was released of the so-called "triumvirate" (the Rodríguez siblings plus Cabello) meeting at La Estancia (Altamira) as a show of cohesion.
The next day, the Psuv called people to the streets in the state of Carabobo to accompany the interim president at a rally alongside Governor Rafael Lacava. In the style of her predecessor in government, Nicolás Maduro, Rodríguez danced, made promises, and thanked the people for their "resistance." The event drew criticism on social media for its attempt to imitate Machado's popular support and because a day earlier she had called for politics to cease being "a show."
For political analysts, Chavismo has been reactive and is trying, "without success," to minimize the impact of Machado's arrival, as well as the new dynamic her presence imposes. A possible wave of "selective persecution" in the country is warned about, although it remains to be seen how much Washington's tutelage will tolerate any event that could affect stability in Venezuela, economic cooperation, and the path toward transition.
The imitation of Maduro
"The interim government's attitude has been very reactive, it has gone on the defensive. From the very first moment Delcy Rodríguez has taken a stance of hostility toward that return and then tried to minimize it, saying it is a show. Evidently every political act has a performative objective, that is, showing society a victory, a power, and in this case Machado has managed, with the way she returned, to show her mobilizing power, which is her competitive advantage over the rest of the national political actors," said political scientist Juan Manuel Trak.
For the doctor in Contemporary Political Processes, Machado's show of strength in the streets, just hours after her return to the country and the public scene, forced Chavismo to carry out a "counter-mobilization" that proved insufficient because it was a smaller turnout and had the aesthetic of the mobilizations and rallies of Maduro's final stage in power which, in his view, were "very forced" and simulated joy.
"For Chavismo, this narrative that Machado's return is a show falls apart insofar as they themselves have put on a show and because they have lived off that for 26 years. It is a rather counterproductive reaction and from a reactive standpoint, that is, they could have anticipated that this was going to happen and ignored it or normalized it, things that have not occurred," Trak added.
From Guacara, the interim president thanked the Venezuelan people for their "dignified resistance" and demanded that England return the gold blocked in that country to recover workers' wages, the health system, and the electric system. She supported dialogue and holding elections as a "solution" and not as a problem, and issued a warning:
"My commitment to you is to tell you that I will not allow anything or anyone to disturb Venezuela, that nothing or no one will come to disturb the tranquility of this country, nor take us off our path of economic growth."
From the point of view of public opinion and political communication specialist Fabiana Garantón, the interim government underestimated the effects of Machado's arrival, which she considers the most significant political event in the country since the detention of Maduro and Cilia Flores on January 3 by US military forces.
"The government doubted the effects of Machado's leadership in the territory, showed surprise at the people's response, and lost focus, calling a very strange rally to do what it criticized: a show," she agreed.
It is worth recalling that the former ruler, who faces the possibility of a trial in the US on charges such as narcoterrorism and now conspiracy to commit torture, along with Flores, was frequently criticized for staging public dance scenes amid the country's political and economic crisis, especially after the denounced electoral fraud of 2024.
Early electoral campaign?
More than one saw the start of a kind of electoral campaign when there is not even an election date yet, between Rodríguez and Machado, potential presidential candidates. The interim president is forced to promote her public image even more given the presence of the opposition leader who, according to polls, would win in any eventual election.
Both Trak and Garantón point out that despite attempts to anticipate a campaign, the actors' positioning will come from the results of the talks at the dialogue table, under the supervision of the US State Department, especially in terms of electoral guarantees. Meanwhile, they estimate, Chavismo now has to react to the actions of a leadership that manages to mobilize people.
"Chavismo has somewhat lost control of the public agenda; since the earthquake it has been on the defensive, reacting, and without the capacity to respond autonomously to US pressures or statements. It tries to achieve victories and to disguise the tutelage relationship it has with Donald Trump's government, but the thing is that nothing being done with the US in terms of contracts and the supposed investments arriving in the country translates into an improvement in people's quality of life, and we are seeing that in the decline of what little popularity Delcy Rodríguez had left," Trak said.
This Wednesday, without prior announcement, Machado went to La Guaira to express support for the population hard hit by the double earthquake of June 24. Meanwhile, Delcy Rodríguez led a meeting from the Miraflores Palace with sectoral vice presidents and ministers aimed at evaluating social policies.
It is worth adding that on October 27, Rodríguez also passed through Aragua — where Machado received support just as she did passing through Carabobo on her way to Caracas — to witness the activation of the Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho "Antonio José de Sucre" Special Emergency Task Unit, as part of the logistical deployment of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) for natural disasters. There she displayed the baton of command alongside Defense Minister Gustavo González López.
Triumvirate showed itself in full after Machado's return as a sign of unity
Risk of greater repression
Human rights defenders who have documented human rights violations in Venezuela against political dissent have again warned about the criminalization of political and social activism in official discourse.
After Machado's return, Cabello, with influence in the FANB, control of the country's police forces and colectivos, warned that they will not tolerate what they consider destabilizing actions and that they have the mechanisms, through the peace quadrants, to detect any "novelty" in the country.
On October 28, the National Union Coalition denounced aggression by piquetes of the Bolivarian National Police and the National Guard, which prevented a mobilization toward Miraflores to demand decent wages and pensions, free elections, and freedom for political prisoners. The march managed to get near the Government Palace after struggling with officials.
After the event, the National Union Coalition denounced an attempted kidnapping and arbitrary detention against union leader Ángel Bolívar, leader of workers at the Venezuelan Corporation of Guayana (CVG) and of the Coalition itself in Ciudad Guayana, Bolívar state, after participating in the mobilization. The incident occurred in Bellas Artes, in downtown Caracas.
Analysts do not rule out an increase in threats, selective repression, or even attempts by radical, undisciplined Chavismo to act against Machado. The question is whether the interim government is willing to override agreements with the White House in that regard and whether the US will tolerate it.
"It is a narrative that seeks to sow fear, but the protests and mobilizations in the streets show there is a contrary effect. What is to be expected is that the US will not tolerate an excessive increase in political and social conflict. In the current context it does not seem possible for the interim government to take repression to the levels of 2024," Garantón said.
"I really believe politics as a show must cease, because politics is something very serious. It has to do with the lives of citizens, because any decision we make affects the life of a population." "There are the airports, there are some… pic.twitter.com/dMjg2FHbk9— VTV CANAL 8 (@VTVcanal8) October 28, 2026
Trak does not rule out that it may have been an express request from Secretary of State Marco Rubio to the interim government not to attack or deprive Machado of her liberty. The senior US official did react during the first hours after the opposition leader's return became known, to clarify that it was a "direct result" of the dialogue. Likewise, Rubio emphasized that the US expects the freedoms of all sectors of Venezuelan politics to continue to be respected.
"The conflict is not that it may increase, it has already been increasing as a consequence of the fact that the expectations generated by a new way of governing that Delcy Rodríguez had promised do not translate, as I said previously, into improvements in people's quality of life. The population is not earning more, they have the same problems with electricity and water, in addition to the expectation of an electoral process that allows a change of government," Trak warned.