Maria Corina Machado's Daughter Accepts Nobel Peace Prize Amid Venezuela's Democratic Struggle

Venezuela's opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for challenging President Nicolas Maduro's authoritarian rule, announced she was emerging from hiding to travel to Norway for the ceremony.

While Machado remained absent from the award ceremony in Oslo, her daughter Ana Corina Sosa Machado accepted the prestigious prize on her behalf and delivered a powerful acceptance speech.

"What we Venezuelans can offer the world is the lesson forged through this long and difficult journey: that to have democracy, we must be willing to fight for freedom," declared Ana Corina to the audience gathered at Oslo's City Hall.

In a call with Nobel Committee chair Jorgen Watne Frydnes published shortly before the ceremony, Machado expressed deep regret at not arriving in time but confirmed she was en route to Oslo. Frydnes used the platform to directly address Venezuela's situation, urging Maduro to "accept his 2024 election defeat and resign," a statement met with applause.

Machado's acceptance speech, delivered by her daughter, denounced kidnappings and torture under Maduro's government as "crimes against humanity" and "state terrorism deployed to bury the will of the people." Despite her absence from the ceremony, Nobel officials assured attendees that Machado was "safe" and would arrive in Oslo by Thursday at the latest.

The Venezuelan government has threatened that Machado would be labeled a "fugitive" if she left the country, potentially facing arrest upon attempting to return. Nevertheless, her daughter confidently stated that her mother would return, saying, "She wants to live in a free Venezuela, and she will never give up on that purpose."

The ceremony was attended by Machado's mother, her three daughters, and several Latin American heads of state, including Argentine President Javier Milei. Though organizers indicated Machado had previously planned to attend, doubts emerged when the traditional press conference with the award winner was postponed and ultimately canceled.

Machado has consistently accused Maduro of stealing Venezuela's July 2024 election, from which she was banned from participating. Her claims have received substantial backing from the international community. While praised for her pro-democracy efforts, she has faced criticism for aligning with US President Donald Trump, to whom she dedicated her Nobel Prize.

The Oslo ceremony coincided with significant US military presence building up in the Caribbean and deadly strikes on alleged drug smuggling vessels. Maduro maintains that these US operations, which Machado has supported as justified, aim to overthrow his government and seize Venezuela's oil reserves.

Since going into hiding, Machado's only public appearance occurred on January 9 in Caracas, where she protested Maduro's inauguration for his third term. The opposition claims its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, won the election. Urrutia, now living in exile, was also present in Oslo for the ceremony.

Benedicte Bull, a University of Oslo professor specializing in Latin America, noted the dilemma Machado faces: "She risks being arrested if she returns, even though the authorities have shown more restraint with her than with many others, because arresting her would have a very strong symbolic value." However, Bull added, "She is the undisputed leader of the opposition, but if she were to stay away in exile for a long time, I think that would change and she would gradually lose political influence."

The Nobel Peace Prize includes a diploma, a gold medal, and 11 million kronor ($1.2 million), which is shared when multiple laureates are honored in the same category. The other Nobel prizes in medicine, physics, chemistry, literature, and economics were presented by Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf at a separate ceremony in Stockholm on the same day.