Machado reaches Oslo after missing Nobel Ceremony
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado arrived in Oslo late Wednesday night, hours after missing the official award ceremony due to a covert escape from Venezuela, where she has faced a decade-long travel ban and spent more than a year in hiding.
Nobel committee head Joergen Watne Frydnes confirmed her arrival, saying Machado was heading first to reunite with her family. Her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa Machado, accepted the prize on her behalf and delivered her speech, stressing that democracy “must be fought for” and that Venezuela’s struggle carries lessons for the world, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Machado secretly left Venezuela by boat on Tuesday before flying from Curaçao to Norway, according to a source familiar with her journey. A large portrait of her was displayed at Oslo City Hall during the ceremony, where the audience applauded news of her imminent arrival.
Her speech compared Venezuela’s fight for freedom to historical struggles led by previous Nobel laureates such as Nelson Mandela and Lech Walesa. She warned that Venezuelans had not realised in time how fragile their democratic institutions had become and accused former president Hugo Chavez and current leader Nicolas Maduro of dismantling the system.
Machado, barred from running in the 2024 presidential election despite winning the opposition primary, went into hiding after authorities intensified crackdowns on opposition figures. She has dedicated part of her Nobel Prize to U.S. President Donald Trump, aligning herself with his camp’s view of Maduro as a security threat to the United States — a stance disputed by U.S. intelligence agencies.
The award comes amid continued controversy over U.S. military strikes on alleged drug-trafficking vessels in the region, which human rights groups have criticised as unlawful.
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