Venezuela says opposition leader will become fugitive if she accepts Nobel
Venezuela’s opposition leader María Corina Machado will be considered a fugitive if she travels to Norway to collect her Nobel Peace Prize, the nation’s attorney general announced.
Machado, who has been living in hiding since the start of the year to avoid arrest, is accused of “acts of conspiracy, incitement of hatred, and terrorism,” said Attorney General Tarik William Saab, News.Az reports, citing BBC.
The 58-year-old was named the Nobel Peace Prize recipient in October, recognized for her efforts toward a “peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.” Machado has long criticized President Nicolás Maduro, describing his government as “criminal” and urging Venezuelans to unite to remove him. Many countries consider Maduro’s rule illegitimate.
Machado was barred from running in last year’s presidential elections, which resulted in Maduro securing a third six-year term amid widespread international criticism that the vote was neither free nor fair. Despite her exclusion, she managed to unite opposition supporters behind her surrogate, Edmundo González, who later fled to Spain fearing repression.
The Nobel Committee praised Machado as “one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times.” Nobel chairman Jørgen Watne Frydnes expressed hope that she could attend the award ceremony in Oslo on December 10, while acknowledging the serious security risks she faces. Machado called her win “shocking,” adding, “I am just one person. I certainly do not deserve this. It is the achievement of a whole society.”
Among the leaders who congratulated her was former US President Donald Trump, whose tensions with Maduro’s government have grown in recent years. Attorney General Saab also said Machado is under investigation for supporting the deployment of US military forces in the Caribbean, as part of a Trump administration operation targeting suspected drug trafficking routes.
Maduro has repeatedly accused Trump of attempting to provoke war to control Venezuela’s oil reserves, though he has recently indicated a willingness to hold talks with Trump administration representatives. Meanwhile, Machado continues to encourage the Venezuelan military to turn against Maduro, presenting her vision for a post-Maduro Venezuela in a “freedom manifesto” video, where she said, “We stand at the edge of a new era—one where our natural rights will prevail.”
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