By Rachel Armstrong, Corina Pons and Aislinn Laing
MADRID, April 20 (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado expects to be back in her home country before the end of 2026 and is urging the United States to accelerate plans for elections.
Speaking in an interview with Reuters late on Sunday, the Nobel Peace Prize winner said that she "absolutely" saw herself back in Venezuela soon, warning that the longer it took for the country to hold elections the greater the risk of civil unrest.
"We believe that in order to (manage) the anxiety and expectations and the urgency of the Venezuelan people in an orderly, civic way, it is very important to start taking steps towards what the whole country requires and demands, which is free and fair elections," she said.
The U.S. captured President Nicolas Maduro in January, raising hopes among some of his opponents that Machado, 58, would play a central role in running the country. U.S. President Donald Trump instead put Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro's former deputy, in charge, saying Machado didn't have the support needed to run the country in the short term.
Machado left Venezuela in December, defying a decade-long travel ban to receive the Nobel Prize, after mainly living in hiding for more than a year following disputed elections in 2024.
Maduro was declared the winner in those elections over opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, leading to countrywide protests. Machado, an industrial engineer by training, had been barred from running for office.
Rodriguez has since won praise from the U.S. administration for her performance, but Machado rejected that as a sign Trump wanted her in the position for the long term.
"What I heard was President Trump praising how she follows his instructions," she said.
"They (the Rodriguez government) have never been as weak as they are right now... they are starting to realize that things have changed and this is a totally different moment."
VENEZUELANS EXPECT 'MAJOR CHANGE'
Machado said that with Maduro's capture Venezuelans were expecting major changes to the government and economy, and those expectations needed to be met fast to prevent the risk of "anarchy".
"It's like a huge dam that's been (gathering) more and more and more energy, frustration, and courage, and expectations," she said.
"My challenge, our challenge, is to channel those energies peacefully, civically, with one objective, which is an electoral process. If people feel that this is not the purpose of all that's going on, these forces could get out of hand."
She said the electoral roll needs to be updated before elections to include those previously blocked from voting and new electoral council members need to be selected, something that could be achieved "in eight or nine months".
She demurred from saying that Trump, to whom she gifted her Nobel Prize medal, wasn't moving fast enough.
"We wouldn't be where we are right now, moving ahead, if it wasn't for the U.S. administration and President Trump's decision to bring Nicolas Maduro to justice."
"But certainly I understand the urgency and demands of my people and I think we should move ahead in the democratic and electoral process."
CRITICAL OF SPAIN
During her trip to Madrid, Machado held a rally on Saturday for exiled Venezuelans, drawing thousands of people to a square in the Spanish capital to hear her say that they would soon be able to go home.
About a quarter of Venezuela's population has fanned out across Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and the U.S. since 2014, fleeing an oil-dependent economy crippled by mismanagement.
She met with Spain's right-wing opposition leaders but declined to meet with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, telling Reuters that the Spanish government had not done enough to challenge the Maduro regime.
"We expected Spain to be perhaps the main voice in highlighting the horrible situation of our country, the crimes against humanity that have been committed, the terrorism of state that has been deployed. Unfortunately, it didn't happen."
"Fortunately there are other voices - and I've met with some of them this week - and we certainly feel that we do have in Europe an ally to Western values and to build back in Venezuela institutions that will last for centuries."
Since leaving Venezuela, Machado has mainly been based in the U.S. and spoke of her delight at being able to reunite with her three adult children.
"As a mom I've always felt very guilty in terms of the consequences my family, especially my children, have suffered because of my decisions," she said.
"I tell myself every day that I do it for them, for every single young Venezuelan and those that have not been born yet, that they will have a country that they feel proud about and they can live as free citizens."
Machado asked her children to live abroad for security reasons after becoming a lawmaker.
She has also enjoyed catching up with technological developments of the past 20 years that hadn't reached Venezuela, saying finding Uber taxis was one particular revelation.
"On the other hand, I am used to my country. I feel I should be back with my people and I'm counting the days."
(Reporting by Rachel Armstrong, Corina Pons and Aislinn Laing; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
