Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose whereabouts are unknown in Venezuela, will nonetheless be in the Norwegian capital, the Nobel Institute confirmed, hours after announcing her absence from the ceremony, a day after her press conference was cancelled.
The Venezuelan opposition leader dedicated this Wednesday's Nobel Peace Prize, through her daughter Ana Corina Sosa, who received the award on her behalf, to the entire people of Venezuela and to the "heroes" who fight for "freedom," as well as the world leaders "who accompanied us and defended our cause."
Machado, who did not mention either the late president Hugo Chávez or his successor and current president, Nicolás Maduro, spoke of a "historic looting" and of how oil money was used to "buy loyalties" abroad, "while the State merged with organized crime and international terrorist groups."
"And so, with all the joy in my heart, I can tell you that in just a few hours we will be able to hug her here in Oslo after 16 months," Sosa said, who occupied the chair intended for her mother next to the members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee with a photo of Machado as a backdrop.
"Venezuela will be able to breathe again," she added.
In her speech, Frydnes praised Machado's journey, calling her a "source of inspiration for millions of people" for remaining in her country in hiding and her "defense of freedom," and urged Maduro to resign.
"To our political prisoners, to the persecuted, to their families, and to all those who defend human rights," the laureate noted in her speech, who also remembered the "millions of anonymous Venezuelans who risked their homes, their families, and their lives."
"Priests, teachers, nurses, students: all persecuted for sharing an electoral act," Sosa declared on behalf of her mother, in a speech delivered in English.
"The dictatorship responded by applying terror," she added.
The ceremony was presided over by King Harald and Queen Sonia of Norway, in the presence of three Latin American presidents invited by Machado: José Raúl Mulino (Panama), Javier Milei (Argentina), and Santiago Peña (Paraguay).
"An open wound"
Machado's speech included a review of Venezuela's history, in which she stated that it became the "most stable" democracy in Latin America, until it was "dismantled" in 1999 by the "regime," which she accused of falsifying history, corrupting the Armed Forces, manipulating elections, and persecuting dissent.
"Let me pay tribute to the heroes of this path. We will open the doors of the prisons and see the sun rise on thousands of innocents who were unjustly imprisoned, finally embraced by those who never stopped fighting for them," she stated.
Machado praised the work of thousands of volunteers during the electoral day, using technology as a "tool for freedom," which allowed them to digitize and publish the acts, which she claimed gave victory to González with 67% of the vote.
Two Venezuelan artists performed: Danny Ocean, who interpreted "Alma Llanera" and "Venezuela," and pianist Gabriela Montero, who played "Mi Querencia."
After receiving the prize, Sosa later confirmed that in "a few hours" she will be able to hug her in Oslo and that the opposition leader's intention is to return "very soon" to Venezuela.
She also spoke of the "open wound" caused by the emigration of Venezuelans, in addition to accusing the government of "breaking" opponents from within: "They wanted Venezuelans to distrust each other, to remain silent, to see each other as enemies."
"An orderly transition"
The almost year and a half she has spent in hiding has served to build new networks of civic pressure and to prepare "an orderly transition towards democracy," affirmed Machado, who spoke of millions of Venezuelans "already feeling their freedom is close."
"They suffocated us, they imprisoned us, they killed us, they exiled us," she said.
The Venezuelan opposition leader did "everything in her power to come to the ceremony," a journey in a situation of "extreme danger" and although she will not be able to participate in today's events, "we are deeply happy to confirm that she is safe and that she will be with us in Oslo," this institute reported in a statement.
The decision of the authorities not to allow her to run in the elections was "a hard blow," admitted the opposition leader, although the movement continued with Edmundo González Urrutia, who was not seen as a "threat" by the "regime."
After trying "everything" for three decades, hope "collapsed," said Machado, who called the decision to hold primary elections, unite the opposition, and tour the entire country during the pre-campaign a "turning point," a year before the 2024 presidential elections.
Two thousand five hundred people were kidnapped, disappeared, or tortured.
"I must say that my mother never breaks a promise. They marked their houses, took entire families as hostages," Sosa added.
Before giving her speech, Sosa received the diploma and the Nobel medal that accompany the prize, this year endowed with 11 million Swedish crowns (1 million euros, 1.2 million dollars), from the head of the Nobel Peace Committee, Jørgen Watne Frydnes.
