The daughter of Venezuelan María Corina Machado accepts the Nobel Peace Prize: "If we want democracy, we must be prepared to fight for freedom."

BarcelonaThe Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado She was supposed to be in Oslo this Wednesday, but ultimately did not arrive in time for the ceremony where she was to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She confirmed this herself in a call with the president of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, which was released by the organization. "I won't arrive in time for the ceremony, but I will be in Oslo. I'm on my way," said Machado, who has been living in hiding since August 2024. The Wall Street Journal, Sources within the US administration confirm that the anti-Chavista leader departed by boat from the Venezuelan coast on Tuesday for the Caribbean island of Curaçao, part of the Netherlands. He is expected to arrive in Norway within the next few hours and address the press on Thursday, after meeting in Oslo with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

While awaiting his arrival, his daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, attended the ceremony on Wednesday and read the acceptance speech on her mother's behalf. "[The award] reminds the world that democracy is essential for peace," she said in a room dominated by a large photograph of the laureate. "The lesson that Venezuelans can share with the world is one forged on a long and difficult road: if we want democracy, we must be prepared to fight for freedom," she added.

During the event, the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, called on the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, to resign from his position and accept the "will" of the Venezuelan people expressed in the elections held in 2024. Maduro presented himself as the winner of the electionsBut the opposition, led by Edmundo González, denounced fraud in the recount. González, who has been in exile in Spain since last yearHe also traveled to Oslo to attend the ceremony. At the time, several countries, including the US, recognized González as the winner, and the UN concluded that the elections in Venezuela were not transparent. However, no international organization endorsed the opposition's count, nor the official one.

Also in the Norwegian capital are Machado's mother, Corina Parisca, her sister, and her two other children, as well as other prominent figures in the Venezuelan opposition. Also present, invited by the laureate, are the presidents of Panama, José Raúl Mulino; Argentina, Javier Milei; Paraguay, Santiago Peña; and Ecuador, Daniel Noboa.

Confusion over Machado's attendance

Early this morning, the director of the Nobel Institute, Kristian Berg Harpivken, predicted that Machado would not be able to attend the ceremony in person: "I don't know where Machado is, but she's not in Norway," Harpivken stated in comments reported by Norwegian public broadcaster NRK. However, by mid-morning, the Institute itself confirmed that Corina Machado was well and would be in Oslo. "Although she will not be able to attend the ceremony or today's events, we are very pleased to confirm that she is well and will be with us in Oslo," the Nobel Institute said in a statement. By mid-afternoon, the organization had still not confirmed Machado's arrival time: "We don't know when she will arrive in Oslo, only that she will come," said Nobel Institute spokesperson Erik Aasheim. Machado was expected in the Nordic capital on Tuesday for a press conference prior to the award ceremony, which was ultimately canceled. His public appearance in Oslo, after not having been seen in public since January, would represent a symbolic victory against the threats of Nicolás Maduro's government. in the midst of an escalation with the United States

A story of absent award winners

As is to be expected with an award that recognizes commitment to freedoms and human rights, it is not the first time that a Nobel Peace Prize laureate has failed to attend the ceremony or had difficulty making it to the awards. When the Chinese activist Liu Xiaobo, then imprisoned, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010, no one went to accept the award. A photograph of him was placed in the chair designated for him, and the Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann read his acceptance speech. In 2022, however, the Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatsky, one of the three Nobel laureates that year who was in prison, was represented by his wife, Natallia Pinchuk. And when the Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi, also imprisoned, won in 2023, it was his children who traveled to Oslo to accept the prize and read his speech.