Nobel Peace Prize winner’s daughter accepts award on her behalf

The daughter of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Maria Corina Machado, accepted the award on her mother’s behalf and delivered a speech written by her.

The Nobel Institute said the Venezuelan opposition leader was “safe” and would travel to Oslo but would not be able to attend the award ceremony scheduled for 12:00 GMT on Wednesday.

Her daughter Ana Corina Sosa told an audience at Oslo City Hall that her mother was determined to live in a free Venezuela and would “never give up on this goal.”

The Nobel Institute awarded Machado the Nobel Prize for her “struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy” in her home country.

Speculation abounded as to whether Machado, who has been in hiding, would be able to defy the travel ban and attend the ceremony in the Norwegian capital.

In a recording shared by the Nobel Institute, Machado said: “I will be in Oslo, I am on my way.”

However, Kristian Berg Harpviken, director of the Nobel Institute, said Machado was expected to arrive “sometime between tonight and tomorrow morning” – too late for the ceremony.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Nobel Institute said it knew nothing about Machado’s whereabouts, sparking concern among her supporters.

Her two children and her mother are currently in Oslo, hoping to reunite with Machado after more than a year apart.

Machado went into hiding shortly after Venezuela’s disputed presidential election in July 2024.

She was last seen in public on January 9, when she addressed supporters at a rally protesting Nicolas Maduro’s swearing-in for a third term as president.

The election was widely seen as rigged by the Venezuelan opposition and on the international stage, triggering protests across the country.

In the ensuing crackdown, some 2,000 people were arrested, including many members of Machado’s opposition coalition.

Machado managed to unite the deeply divided opposition ahead of the election but went into hiding fearing arrest.

She continued to give interviews and upload videos to social media, urging her followers not to give up.

News that she had been selected as this year’s Nobel Peace Prize galvanized her supporters and immediately sparked speculation about whether she would be able to travel to Oslo.

Her travel plans were kept completely secret, and it is not known how she left her hiding place or the means by which she reached Europe.