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Venezuela’s most prominent opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, has vowed to continue her struggle to free her country from years of “obscene corruption,” “brutal dictatorship,” and “despair” as she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize at a ceremony in Oslo.
However, she was awarded the prize in absentia because she has been in hiding in Venezuela since the authoritarian leader, Nicolas Maduro, was accused of stealing the 2024 presidential election from her political movement. Although there was a speculation that she would make a dramatic appearance at thwe event,. having somehow slipped out of Venezuela, Machado was not present.
In a lecture delivered by her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa Machado, the former congresswoman and veteran pro-democracy campaigner pledged to continue leading Venezuela on its “long march to freedom”.
In an audio message released by her team, the activist thanked those who had “risked their lives” to get her out of Venezuela and confirmed: “I’m on my way … I’ll see you very soon.” It was not immediately clear how she had managed to escape Venezuela but the Wall Street Journal, citing US officials, reported that she had secretly travelled by boat to the Caribbean island of Curacao on Tuesday.
Latin American leaders and celebrities, including the right-wing presidents of Argentina, Ecuador, Panama and Paraguay – Javier Milei, Daniel Noboa, Jose Raul Mulino and Santiago Pena – travelled to Oslo to offer Machado their support as her movement continued its crusade to force Maduro from power.
Also present was Edmundo Gonzalez, the 76-year-old diplomat who filled Machado’s shoes in last year’s election after she was banned from running and is widely believed to have won. Gonzalez was forced into exile in Spain by Maduro’s post-election crackdown.
Addressing the audience, Frydnes celebrated Macnado’s “tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a pe\aceful and just transition from dictatorship to democracy”.
In Oslo, dozens of protesters took to the streets on the eve of the ceremony to denounce the award.
“A peace prize must be awarded to actors who genuinely work for peace, dialogue, and justice. When the prize is given to a politician who supports military interference and actions contrary to international law, it breaks with the very purpose of the Nobel peace prize,” Gro Standnes, an activist and member of the Norwegian Peace Council, said in a statement.
