Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has in recent days been promoting the theory that María Corina Machado has left the country, but on Wednesday the opposition leader flatly denied it. Maduro has stated,

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves a flag in front of her followers this Wednesday, at a demonstration in Caracas, Venezuela, on Aug 28, 2024. EFE FILE/ Ronald Peña Caracas, Oct 16 (EFE).

News that Machado had fled Venezuela follows a notorious public absence of the widely known opposition leader. Machado, who became the face of the US-backed opposition in the lead-up to the July 28 presidential election, has failed to make a public appearance in several weeks.

Following Venezuela's disputed presidential election in July, María Corina Machado has been in hiding. On Monday President Nicolás Maduro claimed that the opposition leader had fled the country.