María Corina Machado Returns to Venezuela

BREAKING: Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado returns to a rapturous reception after nearly 10 months in exile, vowing to challenge the country's leadership and press for new elections.

María Corina Machado is back in Venezuela, and the crowds found her within hours.

After nearly ten months in exile, the opposition leader walked back into the country whose government drove her out, and the reception was rapturous. Thousands in the streets, people climbing lampposts just to see her. For most of this year she's been the face of Venezuela's opposition from a distance. Now she's the face of it in person, which changes the math for everyone, starting with the man in Miraflores.

She's not back for a visit. She says she's here to challenge the leadership directly and press for new elections. Maduro's government has jailed opposition figures for far less than a speech, so every day she stays free is a statement in itself.

The hardest fact tonight is simple. The most dangerous opponent of this government is no longer abroad. She's home, and everybody knows exactly where to find her.

This is Sara White, reporting for HIT.