Oslo, December 10, 2025 – Total News Agency-TNA – The Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, traditionally conceived as a moment of universal celebration, was this time marked by an absence that resonated more strongly than any speech. According to international media and sources close to the Nobel Institute, her departure from Venezuela required a risky operation, enforced silence, and clandestine movements that, despite international support, failed to guarantee her timely arrival in the Norwegian capital. In a message released shortly before the ceremony, Machado insisted that the Nobel “is not mine, it belongs to all Venezuelans who have resisted,” a recognition that she, from forced exile, turns into a collective homage to millions of citizens who have fought in silence, who have lost family members, opportunities, and homes, and who have not given up on the hope for a free country. Her absence, far from dimming the ceremony, filled it with meaning. Her name was pronounced with respect, but also with a painful awareness: that receiving the Nobel Peace Prize is not enough to guarantee the freedom that her own prize symbolizes. The Nobel Institute reiterated that Machado will be able to participate in future activities related to the recognition when her security situation allows, a phrase that, in its delicacy, reflects the fragility of the moment. The ceremony conveyed the idea that peace is not a state achieved, but a goal that is pursued amidst adversity. Meanwhile, the image of her daughter holding the award revealed the human dimension of this struggle: the emotional, family, and personal cost of facing a regime that does not tolerate opponents. The Nobel Prize awarded to Machado, even without her physical presence, became a living denunciation. Her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, took her place at the podium while the international community watched, aware that the empty chair was in itself a powerful message. Machado's inability to attend the ceremony was not a personal decision nor a political gesture: it was the direct consequence of the persecution she has suffered in recent years. María Corina Machado, Venezuelan opposition leader and a central figure in the democratic resistance against the Nicolás Maduro regime, was unable to be present in Oslo to receive the award that recognizes decades of courage, perseverance, and sacrifice. She represented those who cannot speak, those who have had to flee, those who remain imprisoned or disappeared, and also those who continue inside Venezuela facing a system that has erased the boundaries between political persecution and daily life. Diplomats and observers present in Oslo agreed that the figure of Machado, without even appearing, occupied the entire room. And this time, that search had a Venezuelan face: that of a woman who could not be there to thank, but whose absence said it all. From her team, the priority at all times was to protect her integrity, in a context where the freedom, security, and lives of those who oppose Maduro are threatened. Even so, the impact of her voice managed to cross the distance.
