In Caracas, sky‑blue shirts— the color of Machado's Vente Venezuela—lined the avenues on Sunday, their riders honking horns and waving flags.
Earlier this month, a chartered vessel canceled its departure hours before leaving, citing an unfit hull, and a flight to Curaçao was denied boarding permits, marking the seventh abortive effort to bring Machado back from Panama.
Flavio Valentini, holding a megaphone, declared the movement "for the people and by the people," while Anthony Romero of Vente Venezuela noted the protests aim to force presidential elections.
Venezuelan authorities deny blocking her return, yet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has urged that Machado has "every right" to enter Venezuela and called for the reopening of businesses.
The demonstrations are expected to intensify as the opposition pushes for a new electoral process, with the government maintaining its stance that the country is not ready for free elections yet.