María Corina Machado, the exiled Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, has repeatedly stated her intent to return despite lacking a valid passport and facing arrest threats from acting President Delcy Rodríguez’s government. Recent developments include renewed U.S.-backed transition talks resuming in the second half of September 2026 between the interim authorities and select opposition figures, a new coalition explicitly backing her for future presidential elections, and White House requests for her to visit Washington beforehand. Allies have begun re-entering the country as a potential vanguard, yet U.S. officials have signaled caution over unilateral moves. These dynamics—her public commitments, regime passport and security barriers, and the pace of institutional negotiations—shape trader assessments of near-term entry feasibility.