Maria Corina Machado’s daughter accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, read her mother’s speech and urged Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to respect election results.
Daughter Accepts Nobel Prize
Maria Corina Machado’s daughter accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on behalf of the Venezuelan opposition. She read the award lecture written by her mother, while she herself did not attend the ceremony. Reports said her whereabouts were unknown at the time, later indicating she was in Norway.
Call to Maduro from Oslo
The Norwegian Nobel Committee called on President Nicolás Maduro to acknowledge the election outcome and step down. Chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes urged Maduro to accept “the will of the Venezuelan people.”
Committee Director Kristian Berg Hånviken warned that Maduro’s regime is “prepared to use all means against the opposition.” He noted that Maria Corina Machado faces death threats from the regime both inside and outside Venezuela.
Award to Maria Corina Machado
On 11 October the Nobel Committee announced that Venezuelan opposition politician Maria Corina Machado would receive the Peace Prize for her “unrelenting work for democratic rights and peaceful transition” in Venezuela.
Frydnes described Venezuela’s transformation from a relatively prosperous democracy into a brutal authoritarian state suffering a humanitarian and economic crisis. Machado’s candidacy was blocked in the 2024 presidential elections, after which she backed another candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia.
