Caracas, Venezuela — Venezuela’s 3-2 victory over the United States in Tuesday’s World Baseball Classic final has provided a welcome respite for Venezuelans, who have been mired in a severe political, social, and economic crisis for years and have found a moment of joy and pride in winning the world title. 

Having not collectively experienced a festive atmosphere for a long time, citizens took to the streets on the night of March 17 to celebrate this major achievement in their sporting history.

According to experts consulted by Latin American Reports, Venezuela’s victory in one of the world’s most important baseball events represents the most significant milestone in the country’s sporting history, without downplaying all the feats achieved in the past.

Sports journalist Julio Sorondo believes it is an unparalleled achievement with significant implications. “It’s a title that eluded us for a very long time, and winning it gives the sense that we’ve reached the pinnacle of Venezuelan sports,” he told Latin America Reports. 

For his part, his colleague Alfredo Di Cesare believes this achievement marks a turning point in sports, as it secured unqualified glory and confirmed that Venezuela is a baseball powerhouse, joining the tournament’s roster of champions: Japan, with three titles; the Dominican Republic and the United States, with one each.

Experts feel that this title will bring great benefits to the sports sector, especially in terms of mindset. “Sports in Venezuela are facing many problems due to a lack of investment, corruption, and the socioeconomic crisis that is hitting families and spilling over into sports. However, the greatest gift from the feat achieved at LoanDepot Park is the mindset,” said Di Cesare, referring to the ballpark in Miami where the championship game was held. 

In this regard, he added, “Every young person who plays a sport saw yesterday that the favorite doesn’t always win. That stars are men who make mistakes, fail, and can strike out three times, just like New York Yankees star Aaron Judge.

“So the greatest legacy this victory will leave for posterity is that the ‘Cinderella’ label should never weigh them down again.”

Sorondo said he feels that baseball, one of the great passions of Venezuelans, will receive a significant boost following the win. “Venezuela not only won the World Baseball Classic yesterday, but also qualified for the next Olympic Games, which will be held in 2028. So, well, over the next five years or the next decade, there’s going to be a lot of talk about baseball. This means that, well, brands will surely also use this sport to target that audience, to promote their products,” he said. 

These contributions could also lead to Major League Baseball games or World Baseball Classic matches in Venezuelan stadiums and, above all, cement the passion for this sport in the DNA of the population.

In their analysis of the significance of this achievement, journalists agreed that it serves as a great escape for those who want to step away for a moment from the political and social turmoil the nation is facing.

“When we apply this to the World Baseball Classic, we feel represented by a victorious Venezuela; it’s quite positive, even on a psychological level, to be able to celebrate victories after having gone through such tense times. What we experienced yesterday in the streets of Venezuela was a collective release filled with positivity and joy—something we hadn’t felt in a long time,” said Sorondo, highlighting the irony that the tournament final was against the United States, the country responsible for ousting Nicolás Maduro on January 3.

Di Cesare believes this achievement represents the country’s unity, but also a sense of liberation. 

“Venezuela’s first title in the World Baseball Classic is a vindication of destiny; a pat on the back for a people who have spent decades loving, suffering, and waiting for something good. 2026 is turning out to be a year with more good news than bad for Venezuela,” he commented.

Featured image credit: @AlbertCardozoAG via X.

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Caracas, Venezuela — María Corina Machado, Venezuela’s opposition leader, says she will return to the country after leaving last December to attend the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway. 

Machado, who vocally supported U.S. military attacks on Venezuela ahead of the January 3 operation that captured President Nicolás Maduro, has since been sidelined by the Trump administration who lent its support to Maduro’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez.

With Machado’s return to Venezuela increasingly more likely, her supporters are anxious as to what role — if any — she’ll play in the political transition of the country. 

Machado was in hiding inside Venezuela for nearly a year before being spirited away on go-fast boats on a December night with the aid of a non-profit staffed by former U.S. military members. 

Analysts who spoke to Latin America Reports said that if she returns and no attempts are made on her life, it could be a clear sign from the Rodríguez government that they are willing to open up political participation in the country. 

Alejandro Armas Díaz, a journalist and political researcher, believes that if Machado’s possible return goes smoothly, it will be a giant step forward for the country. 

“We are talking about the leader of the majority opposition. On the other hand, if she returns but suffers any reprisals, it would be an equally big setback,” he told Latin America Reports. 

Historian and political analyst Alejandra Martínez Cánchica, director for Latin America at the Freedom and Development Foundation, agrees. She believes that Machado’s return is a litmus test to show whether Venezuela is truly in a process of transition.

She told Latin America Reports that the politician’s safe return would be “the definitive proof that Venezuela is indeed on a path towards a democratic transition.”

U.S. pressure, said Armas, could also force the Venezuelan government to create the right conditions for her return. 

“In Venezuela, we have seen changes that until recently were unthinkable. The source of these changes is pressure from the United States,” Armas said. “Will Washington push for Machado to be able to return without any problems? We don’t know. It may not. It may consider that it is better to leave it for later, when the country is more stable.” 

The U.S. has formulated a three-stage plan for Venezuela, with stabilisation and economic recovery coming before political transition. 

“Given that Machado has suggested that her return is imminent, we will know sooner rather than later whether she [Machado] will actually do so. I find it hard to believe that she will do so without certain guarantees,” Armas added. “If she does not, it could cause some disappointment among her supporters, for announcing something she could not do.”

Martínez sees this as an ideal moment for the opposition leader’s return. 

“Since at least mid or late January of this year, we have been seeing political leaders and activists in Venezuela take to the streets to engage in politics. Many were in hiding, many were imprisoned, and they are now protected under the Amnesty Law,” she said, referring to a law that frees political prisoners, but has also been criticized as exclusionary. 

Read more: Families of military members criticize Venezuela’s new amnesty law as exclusionary  

María Corina Machado’s leadership would be strengthened

Experts agree that one inevitable effect if Machado returned would be an even greater appreciation from her base.

Martínez said that María Corina “still has the majority preference among the population and also continues to have the highest voting intention … So, the fact that she can come to Venezuela to engage in politics on the ground will undoubtedly reconfigure the balance of power and the Venezuelan political map.”

The analyst cited a poll from Gold Glove Consulting, which estimates that the Venezuelan opposition leader has a mathematical advantage of 67% over interim President Rodríguez, should elections be held in the coming months.

She also said that Machado’s return could help her recapture her political base which helped her win 92% of votes during the 2023 primaries and — after he was sidelined by Maduro — helped propel her candidate, Edmundo González, to win disputed 2024 elections, according to voter tallies published by the opposition. 

“In January-February 2023, the political landscape in Venezuela, at least on the opposition side, was completely deserted. There was great demoralization, people were demobilized. And yet, from the beginning of 2023, María Corina fuelled a movement within Venezuelan society that by July 2024, a year and a half later, was an unstoppable force,” Martínez added. 

Returning from exile too, could help shore up her image among voters, said Armas. 

“Many people are left with the impression that [those in exile] have comfortable lives while the masses in Venezuela continue to suffer. This is not necessarily the case in reality, but that is the impression that, I repeat, remains. So it is in Machado’s best interest to return to the country as soon as possible. Whether she can do so is another matter,” he said.

Featured image: María Corina Machado and former presidential candidate Edmundo González in 2024.

Image credit: Edmundo González Via X.

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