Machado’s daughter accepts Nobel Peace Prize in Venezuelan opposition leader’s absence

OSLO Norway AP The daughter of Mar a Corina Machado accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway on her mother s behalf Wednesday and disclosed in a speech written by the Venezuelan opposition leader that her country shows the world we must be willing to fight for freedom Machado has been in hiding and hasn t been seen in population since Jan when she was briefly detained after joining supporters in a protest in Caracas Venezuela s capital J rgen Watne Frydnes chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee informed the award ceremony that Mar a Corina Machado has done everything in her power to be able to attend the ceremony here in current times a journey in a situation of extreme danger Although she will not be able to reach this ceremony and at present s events we are profoundly happy to confirm that she is safe and that she will be with us here in Oslo he noted to applause Her daughter Ana Corina Sosa accepted the prize in her place She wants to live in a free Venezuela and she will never give up on that purpose she explained That is why we all know and I know that she will be back in Venezuela very soon Machado declared in an audio recording of a phone call published on the Nobel website that multiple people had risked their lives for her to arrive in Oslo I am very grateful to them and this is a measure of what this recognition means to the Venezuelan people she noted before indicating that she was about to board a plane Machado mentioned that since this is a prize for all Venezuelans I believe that it will be received by them And as soon as I arrive I will be able to embrace all my family and my children that I ve have not seen for two years and so countless Venezuelans Norwegians that I know that share our struggle and our fight Show of solidarity Prominent Latin American figures attended Wednesday in a signal of solidarity with Machado including Argentine President Javier Milei Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Panamanian President Jos Ra l Mulino and Paraguayan President Santiago Pe a The -year-old Machado s win for her struggle to achieve a democratic transition in her South American nation was disclosed on Oct Watne Frydnes disclosed that Venezuela has evolved into a brutal authoritarian state and he described Machado as one of the the greater part extraordinary examples of civilian courage in new Latin American history Machado won an opposition primary vote and intended to challenge President Nicol s Maduro in last year s presidential ballot but the ruling body barred her from running for office Retired diplomat Edmundo Gonz lez took her place The lead-up to the ballot on July saw widespread repression including disqualifications arrests and human rights violations That increased after the country s National Electoral Council which is stacked with Maduro loyalists declared the incumbent the winner Gonz lez who sought asylum in Spain last year after a Venezuelan court issued a warrant for his arrest attended Wednesday s ceremony U N human rights administrators and a great number of independent rights groups have expressed concerns about the situation in Venezuela and called for Maduro to be held accountable for the crackdown on dissent Fight for freedom More than anything what we Venezuelans can offer the world is the lesson forged through this long and hard journey that to have democracy we must be willing to fight for freedom Sosa mentioned as she delivered the lecture written for the occasion by her mother The speech didn t refer to the current tensions between Washington and Caracas as U S President Donald Trump continues a military operation in the Caribbean that has killed Venezuelans in international waters and threatens to strike Venezuela Machado has consistently endorsed Trump s strategy toward Venezuela Among various heroes of this journey honored in the lecture Sosa mentioned the leaders around the world who joined us and defended our cause but didn t elaborate Watne Frydnes explained of authoritarian leaders like Maduro that your power is not permanent Your violence will not prevail over people who rise and resist Mr Maduro accept the ballot consequence and step down he disclosed Past winners unable to attend Five past Nobel Peace Prize laureates were detained or imprisoned at the time of the award according to the prize s official website the greater part lately Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi in and Belarusian human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski in The others were Liu Xiaobo of China in Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar in and Carl von Ossietzky of Germany in Gustavo Tovar-Arroyo a Venezuelan human rights activist who was forced to flee into exile in explained that Machado s supporters did the best for her to be here as she deserves But we knew the jeopardy He added that they are disappointed that she cannot be in the ceremony but this is part of what we do when we fight against a dictatorship a tyranny or a criminal regime So we are used to it