“I’m shocked!” reacted the Venezuelan politician, who lives in hiding, in a video released by her press team after learning of the award.
“What is this nonsense? I can’t believe it,” she said in a conversation with her ally Edmundo González Urrutia, exiled in Spain and who replaced her as a candidate in the last presidential elections after her disqualification.
This video shows the emotional moment when the representative of the Norwegian Nobel Committee informs María Corina Machado about the decision.
Machado was awarded “for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela, and for her fight to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy,” announced the president of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Jørgen Watne Frydnes.
“It is one of the most extraordinary examples of civil courage in Latin America in recent times,” highlighted the president of the Committee.
According to him, María Corina Machado has established herself as “a key unifying figure in a political opposition that was previously deeply divided,” and that now demands “free elections and a representative government.”
“Despite facing serious threats to his life, he has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions,” added the president of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, who estimated that Venezuela “has evolved from a prosperous and relatively democratic country to a brutal and authoritarian state.”
Recently, Machado, 58, an engineer and mother of three, expressed her support for the United States military deployment in the Caribbean, which the Maduro government called a “threat.”
“There is very little left for Venezuelans to recover our sovereignty and democracy. We are ready to assume the reins of the new government,” Machado said in September.
Washington, which accuses Nicolás Maduro of being behind drug trafficking networks, affirms that its operation is due to an anti-drug device, but Chavismo considers it an “undeclared war,” in the words of the Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino López.
Recently, Machado, 58, an engineer and mother of three, expressed her support for the United States military deployment in the Caribbean, which the Maduro government called a “threat.”
“There is very little left for Venezuelans to recover our sovereignty and democracy. We are ready to assume the reins of the new government,” Machado said in September.
Washington, which accuses Nicolás Maduro of being behind drug trafficking networks, affirms that its operation is due to an anti-drug device, but Chavismo considers it an “undeclared war,” in the words of the Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino López.
“We will win,” says María Corina Machado to the Norwegian Nobel Committee
“I’m sure we will win.” The flaming Nobel Peace Prize winner, Venezuelan opponent María Corina Machado, showed optimism and gratitude “on behalf of the Venezuelan people,” upon learning the news of her award this Friday.
The official account of the awards published on X the video of the call from the secretary of the Nobel Committee to inform Venezuelan politics of his distinction minutes before making the public announcement.
During the conversation, which occurred in the middle of the night in Venezuela, Machado can be heard very excited. “Oh my God,” he says at the beginning of this conversation in English.
“I have no words,” “I feel honored, and very grateful on behalf of the Venezuelan people,” the politician insists to her interlocutor in Oslo.
“We are working very hard to achieve it, but I am sure that we will win. This is, of course, the greatest recognition for our people, who truly deserve it,” says Machado.
“This is a movement, an achievement of the entire society. I am just one person, and I certainly don’t deserve it,” he insists.
“You deserve it,” replies Kristian Berg Harpviken. “This is a recognition of you, of what you have done,” he insists.
The Norwegian committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to Machado for “for his tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela, and for his fight to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
Underground
In recent weeks, a rumor has circulated on social networks that María Corina Machado is taking refuge in the United States embassy. The Minister of the Interior and Justice, Diosdado Cabello, hinted that he could be staying at that diplomatic headquarters.
His whereabouts could not be confirmed by AFP or by any Venezuelan or American authority.
The opposition has lived in hiding since after the presidential elections of July 28, 2024, in which Maduro claimed victory despite allegations of fraud by his rivals.
The opposition led by Machado claims victory in those last presidential elections, which it ran with the candidacy of Edmundo González Urrutia, exiled in Spain following an arrest warrant against him.
The United States also did not recognize the result of those elections.
The award is a “well-deserved recognition” for his “long fight” for “freedom” in Venezuela, González Urrutia celebrated on the social network X. “Venezuela’s first Nobel Prize!” he wrote.
The spokesman for the UN Human Rights commission, Thameen Al-Kheetan, said in turn that the decision reflects “the clear aspirations of the people of Venezuela for free and fair elections, for civil and political rights and for the rule of law.”
The European Union also reacted to the award. The Nobel is a “powerful message” in favor of democracy, said Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the Commission, the community executive.
Last year, the prestigious award went to the Japanese anti-nuclear group Nihon Hidankyo, a movement promoted by survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs.
The prize, which will be awarded on December 10 in Oslo, consists of a gold medal, a diploma and a sum of 1.2 million dollars.
