CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado was absent Wednesday from the ceremony in Norway in which she was to receive this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, but the confirmation that she was traveling to Europe sparked mixed feelings in her country, where many supported her precisely because she had not left her homeland.
Machado’s daughter accepted the award on her behalf in a ceremony that became a rally for democracy, and likewise, an indictment of the Venezuelan government, with attendees hearing in detail documented human rights abuses committed against real or perceived opponents of President Nicolás Maduro.
“She wants to live in a free Venezuela, and she will never give up on that goal,” Ana Corina Sosa told the audience in Oslo before reading her mother’s prepared remarks. “That’s why we all know, and I know, that she will return to Venezuela very soon.”
Neither Machado nor her staff explained when and how she left Venezuela for Oslo, Norway, or what obstacles prevented her from appearing at the ceremony.
In an audio recording of a phone call published on the Nobel website before the event, Machado said she would not be able to arrive in time for the ceremony but should be in Oslo. She added that she was “very grateful” to the many people who “risked their lives” for her to travel to the capital of Norway.
Machado has not been seen in public since January 9, when she was briefly detained after joining supporters in an anti-government protest in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. The next day, Maduro was sworn in for a third six-year term despite credible evidence that he lost the presidential election.
Machado intended to challenge Maduro in last year’s contest, but the government prevented her from running for office, forcing her to endorse retired diplomat Edmundo González instead. Before and after the election, many voters said they supported Machado — and by extension González — because she had not gone into exile while the country collapsed.
On Wednesday, some Venezuelans understood her decision to leave while others questioned why she was awarded the Nobel.
“They say she left the country, if this is true, good for her,” said Josefina Páez, an office worker, in Caracas. “That woman made a lot of sacrifices to fight for democracy, and it’s time to reunite with her family, with her children, and continue to fight from the outside.”
Meanwhile, the shopkeeper José Hurtado called Machado a “traitor” for her support for US President Donald Trump’s policy towards Venezuela.
“Those awards are very discredited,” he said.
The ceremony took place as Trump continues with a military operation in the Caribbean that killed Venezuelans in international waters and threatens to hit Venezuela.
González, who attended the ceremony in Oslo, sought asylum in Spain last year after a Venezuelan court issued a warrant for his arrest. His son, Rafael Tudares, is among the hundreds of people in prison for what human rights organizations have determined are political reasons.
Independent experts supported by the United Nations, Venezuelan non-governmental organizations and other groups have documented extensive government brutal repression during Maduro’s presidency. Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel committee, told attendees about repeated cases of torture, including the experiences of children detained after the 2024 presidential election.
“The United Nations documented their experience as follows: Plastic bags pulled tight over their heads, electric shocks to the genitals, blows on the body so brutal that they hurt the great and sexual violence, cells so cold that cause intense shivering, bad drinking water full of insects, screams that no one came to stop,” he said.
Watne Frydnes then appealed to Maduro to “accept the election result and step aside.”
It is unclear when and how Machado and González may return to Venezuela. An opposition plan for González to return before the January 10 ceremony that gave Maduro another term did not materialize.
“People are waiting for news about what will happen, about how Maria Corina receiving or not receiving the award will affect things,” said Caracas teacher José Murillo.
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Associated Press writer Jorge Rueda and video journalist Juan Pablo Arraez contributed to this report.