CARACAS: Maria Corina Machado, Venezuela's opposition leader and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, made a surprise return home on Sunday after nearly a year in exile, drawing jubilant crowds in a direct challenge to the US-backed interim government.
Thousands of people lined highways, toll plazas and city streets waving Venezuelan flags and chanting "Liberty!" as Machado entered Caracas in a convoy of cars and motorbikes.
Wearing her trademark white T-shirt and blue jeans, she leaned through the sunroof of a vehicle to wave to the crowds and shake hands with her supporters.
In Guacara earlier, AFP witnessed Machado singing the national anthem as supporters packed out a plaza, waving flags and cheering her return.
