OSLO: Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Wednesday urged her compatriots to fight for freedom against “state terrorism”, as she said she was coming out of hiding to travel to Norway after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in her absence.

Machado, who won the Nobel for challenging President Nicolas Mad­uro’s grip on power, has not been seen in public for months after threats to her life.

Her daughter accepted the prize on her behalf in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, and delivered her blistering acceptance speech, slamming the country’s leader for crimes against the Venez­uelan people.

“What we Venezuelans can offer the world is the lesson forged through this long and difficult journey: that to have democracy, we must be willing to fight for freedom,” said Ana Corina Sosa Machado.

In a call with the chair of the Nobel Committee, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, published just before the ceremony, Machado said she was “very sad and very sorry” that she would not make it in time but was on her way to Oslo. Frydnes, for his part, urged Maduro to accept his 2024 election defeat and resign.

“Lay the foundation for a peaceful transition to democracy. Because that is the will of the Venezuelan people,” he added in a speech, to applause. Machado also denounced kidnappings and torture under Mad­uro’s rule.

“These are crimes against humanity, documented by the United Nations. State terrorism, deployed to bury the will of the people,” her daughter said.

Despite her absence from the ceremony, Nobel officials said she was “safe” and would arrive in Oslo by Thursday at the latest.

Venezuela has warned Machado that she would be labelled a “fugitive” if she left the country, putting her at risk of arrest when attempting to re-enter, but her daughter assured the audience in Oslo that her mother would return.

“She wants to live in a free Venezuela, and she will never give up on that purpose.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2025