Omar González, national leader of Vente Venezuela, has returned to the country after a year and three months in exile. González was one of the five leaders of this party, founded by María Corina Machado in 2012, who remained more than 400 days sheltered and under heavy siege by Nicolás Maduro’s government at the Argentine embassy in Caracas.
Read more De la Espriella overturns the rule that stopped aerial spraying with glyphosate
Besides him, Magalli Meda, Pedro Urruchurtu, Claudia Macero, and Humberto Villalobos were held captive at the Argentine embassy, known after that episode as the macaws. The opposition members were surrounded by the regime for denouncing fraud in the July 2024 presidential elections and rejecting the authority of Chavismo. In May 2025, these leaders escaped from that besieged embassy in a secret operation presumably carried out with internal complicity, called Operation Macaw, and went into exile.
“I feel stronger and more humble to contribute, to continue supporting the Venezuelan people in this struggle,” González declared when received by an enthusiastic crowd at José Antonio Anzoátegui airport in the eastern city of Barcelona, located four hours from Caracas. “I return with my heart full of emotion, hope, and love for my land. I return home, to reunite with my people and continue fighting for freedom.”
Among the party members who welcomed González were Henri Alviarez, secretary of organization of Vente Venezuela, and Juan Pablo Guanipa, from Primero Justicia, politically close to Machado. González stated that his presence in the country constitutes “a prelude” to Machado’s return.
Read more New marches in Ceuta in a climate of high tension: “Invaders, expulsion”
U.S. legislator Rick Scott — a frequent critic of Chavismo’s procedures in recent years — warned Delcy Rodríguez’s government that it must guarantee the physical integrity of Omar González and any other citizen wishing to return to Venezuela. He added that the United States is closely monitoring this situation. “Any attempt at intimidation or imprisonment against those returning to Venezuela to rebuild a free nation will have consequences,” he said.
After the U.S. military attack that led to the arrest of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on January 3, the pressure of the internal political situation in Venezuela has noticeably eased. The political police ceased their nighttime patrols, mass releases of political prisoners were approved, and episodes of hostility toward opposition figures, politicians, or civil society members at airports gradually disappeared.
This retreat has made it possible for several well-known opposition leaders — such as Carlos Ocariz, Jon Goicoechea, José Guerra, or Richard Blanco — to decide to return from exile. González is the first national leader of Vente Venezuela — the party that has suffered the worst political repression since 2024 — who can return.
Read more Alcaraz, a tennis player facing fear: “I feel good, I must trust; now everything is in my head”
