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Venezuelan Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado appeared among a cheering crowd of supporters in Oslo on Thursday, her first public appearance in nearly a year since she went into hiding after being barred from running in her country’s presidential election.
Ms Machado Stepping onto the balcony of Oslo’s Grand Hotel, where Nobel laureates usually stay, he was greeted by applause from a huge crowd of people dressed in black puffer jackets and jeans who had gathered in the dark of night to catch a glimpse of the fugitive Venezuelan opposition figure.
Although she could not reach the ceremony in the Norwegian capital in time to accept the prestigious award in person, Ms. Machado’s The public appearance was significant – it was in defiance of a decade-long travel ban imposed on him in his home country and having been declared a fugitive by the administration of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
It is said that she managed to escape courageously Venezuela On Tuesday, she traveled by boat to the Caribbean island of Curaçao, from where she boarded a private plane to Norway, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Ms Machado forced into hiding after Mr Maduro accuses her Theft in the July 2024 presidential election.
With her hand on her heart, the 58-year-old pro-democracy activist joined her supporters in signing “Gloria al Bravo Pueblo (Glory to the Brave People)”, Venezuela’s national anthem.
Afterward, she walked down to meet supporters who chanted “Courageous!” Raised slogans. and “Freedom!” Outside his hotel. He spent several minutes outside, where he was accompanied by his family members and several of his close associates. “President! President!” He hugged several people in the crowd amid chants of
“I want you all to come back Venezuela” Ms. Machado said as people raised their cellphones to take pictures.
The video shows him climbing over metal barricades to embrace some of his supporters who had gathered to meet him outside the 19th-century building. He appeared shortly thereafter At the ceremony, his daughter received the Nobel Prize.
A large portrait of a smiling Machado was hung in Oslo City Hall to represent him at the ceremony.
Ms Machado said in an audio recording of a phone call published on the Nobel website that she would not be able to arrive in time for the ceremony, but that many people “risked their lives” for her to reach Oslo.
“I am very grateful to him, and it is a measure of what this recognition means to the Venezuelan people,” she said before indicating that she was about to board a plane.
“Freedom is a choice that must be renewed every day, it must be measured by our will and our courage to defend it. For this reason, the Venezuelan issue goes beyond our borders,” he said in his prepared speech.
“Those who choose freedom contribute not only to themselves, but also to humanity.”
Ms Machado has been in hiding since January 9 when she appeared briefly to address her supporters at a rally protesting the president’s swearing in for a third term.
Mister Maduro is widely considered a dictator and is not recognized by the US As the legitimate leader of Venezuela. He was sworn in for a third six-year term in January, and says he was the legitimate winner of last year’s presidential election.
The controversial elections were widely rejected as rigged by the Venezuelan opposition and much of the international community, sparking protests across the country.
Ms Machado won the opposition primary and intended to challenge Mr Maduro in an election last July, but the government barred her from running for office. Standing in his place was retired diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez.
The elections were preceded by widespread repression, including disqualification, arrests, and human rights violations. It escalated when the country’s National Electoral Council, which is packed with Mr Maduro loyalists, declared the incumbent leader the winner.
Jørgen Watne Friednes, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said at the awards ceremony that Ms. Machado “has done everything in her power to be able to attend the ceremony here today – a journey in conditions of extreme danger.” When Mr. Friednes said during his speech that Ms. Machado was coming to Oslo, the audience cheered and applauded.
“Venezuela has devolved into a brutal authoritarian state,” he said, calling Ms. Machado “one of the most extraordinary examples of civic courage in recent Latin American history.”
Many past Nobel laureates have been unable to receive their awards due to some people being detained or imprisoned in their home countries.
Most recently, Iranian activist Nargess Mohammadi in 2023 and Belarusian human rights lawyer Ales Bialiatsky in 2022 were unable to attend the ceremony. Others include Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo in 2010, Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar in 1991 and Carl von Ossietzky of Germany in 1935.