Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, speaking Thursday in Caracas after returning from more than 10 months in exile, called for presidential elections in 2027 and thanked the Trump administration, Al Jazeera and CNN reported^1,2.

Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had outlined a sequence of steps toward a democratic transition that includes a 2027 presidential vote^1,2.

Al Jazeera reported she credited President Donald Trump, his administration and Rubio for opening what she called a floodgate to freedom after U.S. forces seized Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3¹.

CNN said neither the United States nor Venezuela's interim government has set an election date². A senior State Department official told CNN that Washington expects a new Supreme Tribunal of Justice by year's end and a new National Electoral Council soon after, followed by a declaration of a presidential vacancy that would start a six-month period for elections².

Interim President Delcy Rodríguez said elections would be held with the world as witness, without naming a date, Al Jazeera reported¹. CNN said she also told viewers there would be elections as mandated by the constitution².

Asked about a meeting with Rodríguez, Machado said she had not received a message from her or from Washington^1,2. The BBC reported she said she would not personally take part in election negotiations between opposition representatives and the government³.

Al Jazeera said Machado criticized a recent U.S. oil arrangement, saying it did not meet the transparency Venezuelan society wants¹. CNN said Washington has worked with Rodríguez on prisoner releases and investment rules while remaining publicly distant from Machado as a candidate².

Machado returned Sunday to crowds of supporters; CNN quoted her saying she heard one word along the route: freedom². What calendar Caracas and Washington will actually set remains unannounced^1,2.