Dissidents in Venezuela Plot Return in Bid to Deter Maduro

Venezuela's popular opposition leader plans a return to the public stage after months in hiding from the secret police-a last-ditch attempt to stop President Nicolás Maduro from clinging to power when his term ends this week.

- KEJAL VYAS AND JUAN FORERO

In a video interview with The Wall Street Journal from an undisclosed location in Venezuela, María Corina Machado called on supporters to join her on the streets to protest Maduro's plan to begin a third presidential term on Friday despite his huge loss in last summer's election. Maduro's regime launched a brutal crackdown on opposition figures and protests in the wake of his election defeat.

Edmundo González, who stood in for Machado when the regime barred her from running for president and was forced into exile after the result, met with President Biden at the White House on Monday. After the meeting, he thanked the Biden administration "for its support in this struggle for the democratic recovery of Venezuela. It's a commitment we carry with us."

Biden, in a post on X, called González "a man whose campaign inspired millions and one who should be taking the oath of office in four days."