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

By DAVID KEYTON Associated Press OSLO Norway AP Venezuelan opposition leader Mar a Corina Machado s daughter accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her mother s behalf Wednesday hours after authorities commented Machado would miss the ceremony The daughter of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ana Corina Sosa who will accept the award on behalf of her mother Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado arrives for the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony in Oslo Norway Wednesday Dec Ole Berg-Rusten NTB Scanpix Pool via AP Machado has been in hiding and has not been seen in residents 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 narrated the award ceremony that Mar a Corina Machado has done everything in her power to be able to attend the ceremony here this day a journey in a situation of extreme danger Although she will not be able to reach this ceremony and in the present day s events we are profoundly happy to confirm that she is safe and that she will be with us here in Oslo he declared to applause The director of the Norwegian Nobel institute and Machado s spokesperson announced earlier Wednesday that she wouldn t be able to attend the ceremony Her daughter Ana Corina Sosa did instead Related Articles In the present day in History December Former Vice President Al Gore accepts Nobel Peace Prize A symphony of woofs This is what happens when golden retrievers gather in an Argentina park Mexican president says Mexico will send more water to US but not forthwith Iain Douglas-Hamilton British zoologist and Save the Elephants founder dies at Hamas calls for more international pressure on Israel before ceasefire s next phase Mar a Corina Machado stated in an audio recording of a phone call published on the Nobel website that a great number of 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 announced before indicating she was about to board a plane I know that there are hundreds of Venezuelans from different parts of the world that were able to reach your city that are right now in Oslo family my organization so various colleagues Machado added And 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 a great number of Venezuelans Norwegians that I know that share our struggle and our fight Latin American leaders present in solidarity Prominent Latin American figures attended Wednesday in a signal of solidarity with Machado including Argentine President Javier Milei Ecuador s President Daniel Noboa Panama s President Jos Ra l Mulino and Paraguayan President Santiago Pe a Argentine s President Javier Milei arrives at Oslo City Hall before the award ceremony of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo Norway Wednesday Dec Ole Berg-Rusten NTB Scanpix via AP The -year-old s win for her struggle to achieve a democratic transition in her South American nation was revealed on Oct and she was described as a woman who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness Machado won an opposition primary vote and intended to challenge President Nicol s Maduro in last year s presidential voting but the governing body barred her from running for office Retired diplomat Edmundo Gonz lez took her place The lead-up to the July electoral contest 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 which was overlooked by a large portrait of Machado U N human rights agents and various independent rights groups have expressed concerns about the situation in Venezuela and called for Maduro to be held accountable for the crackdown on dissent Selected previous winners have been 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 most of 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 commented Machado s supporters did the best for her to be here as she deserves But we knew the threat 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