PANAMA CITY — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado announced in Panama City that she intends to return to Venezuela before the end of 2026 and run again for president. She made the announcement during a meeting with several fellow Venezuelan opposition leaders.

"I will be a candidate, but there may be others, of course," Machado said. "I would love to compete with everyone, with anyone who wants to be a candidate."

Machado has been in exile since December, after spending 11 months in hiding in Venezuela before traveling to Norway. She and other opposition leaders remain committed to a democratic transition through free and fair presidential elections in which all Venezuelans inside and outside the country vote.

The date for Venezuela's next presidential election is unclear. Venezuela's constitution requires elections within 30 days of the president becoming permanently unavailable. Machado said an election with democratic conditions would take between seven and nine months of planning. She said needed changes for democratic elections include appointing neutral electoral authorities, updating voter registration, and allowing opposition candidates to run without government interference.

Machado's government barred her from running in the 2024 presidential election, and she chose retired ambassador Edmundo González Urrutia to represent her on the ballot. Officials loyal to the ruling party declared Maduro the winner of the 2024 presidential election mere hours after polls closed.

Machado's campaign collected evidence showing González Urrutia defeated Maduro by a more than two-to-one margin in the 2024 election. Maduro's government barred Machado from running in that election, making her ineligible to appear on the ballot directly.