Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures at a protest ahead of the Friday inauguration of President Nicolas Maduro for his third term, in Caracas, Venezuela. Photo: Reuters
OSLO:
Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Wednesday urged her compatriots to fight for freedom against “state terrorism”, as she said she was coming out of hiding to travel to Norway after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in her absence.
Machado, who won the Nobel for challenging President Nicolas Maduro’s grip on power, has not been seen in public for months after threats to her life.
Her daughter accepted the prize on her behalf in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, and delivered her blistering acceptance speech, slamming the country’s leader for crimes against the Venezuelan people.
“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,” said Ana Corina Sosa Machado.
In a call with the chair of the Nobel Committee, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, published just before the ceremony, Machado said she was “very sad and very sorry” that she would not make it in time but was on her way to Oslo.
Frydnes, for his part, urged Maduro to accept his 2024 election defeat and resign.
“Lay the foundation for a peaceful transition to democracy. Because that is the will of the Venezuelan people,” he added in a speech, to applause.
