Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado makes appearance in Oslo

Venezuelan opposition chief María Corina Machado made her first public look in Norway in eleven months on Thursday when her daughter accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf.

Machado had been in hiding since January 9, when she was briefly detained after becoming a member of supporters within the Venezuelan capital Caracas. Her recognition got here after a peaceable problem to the federal government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The group chanted, “Freedom!” as Machado took to the resort balcony in Oslo, Norway, and waved to her supporters earlier than becoming a member of them in singing Venezuela’s nationwide anthem.

In an audio recording of a phone dialog printed on the Nobel web site, Machado mentioned she wouldn’t be capable to arrive in Oslo in time for the awards ceremony, however that many individuals had “risked their lives” to get her there.

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Nobel Prize winner Maria Corina Machado waves on the Grand Lodge in Oslo, Norway on December 11, 2025. (Lise Åserud/NTB Scanpix by way of AP)

“I’m very grateful to them, and this can be a measure of what this recognition means for the Venezuelan individuals,” she mentioned.

Her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, accepted the Nobel Prize in her place, saying her mom “desires to dwell in a free Venezuela” and can “by no means surrender that objective.”

“That is why everyone knows, and I do know, that she shall be again in Venezuela very quickly,” Sosa added.

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The Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, accepts the award on behalf of her mom, Venezuelan opposition chief Maria Corina Machado, in the course of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony at Oslo Metropolis Corridor, Norway, on December 10. (Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB Scanpix, Pool by way of AP)

Exterior the resort, Machado interacted and hugged individuals within the crowd as they took photographs and peppered her with chants of “President! President!”

“I need you all again in Venezuela,” Machado mentioned.

Machado’s motion got here after President Donald Trump introduced on Wednesday that the US had seized a Venezuelan oil tanker, a transfer that might additional pressure relations with Maduro’s authorities, which is already topic to in depth US sanctions on the nation’s oil sector.

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Venezuelan opposition chief Maria Corina Machado gestures at a protest forward of Friday’s inauguration of President Nicolás Maduro for his third time period in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 9, 2025. (REUTERS/Maxwell Briceno)

Since September, US navy strikes have focused suspected drug traffickers close to Venezuela at the least 22 instances, killing 87 individuals. Trump additionally just lately mentioned Maduro’s “days are numbered” and refused to rule out a floor operation in Venezuela.

Steve Yates, senior analysis fellow for China and nationwide safety coverage at The Heritage Basis, mentioned Wednesday on “Fox Information @ Evening” that Machados go to overseas was a possibility to realize “extra worldwide assist” for her trigger, including that Trump may benefit if extra US allies in Europe supported a “non-invasion” strategy.

The Venezuelan opposition chief has beforehand spoken out in assist of the Trump administration’s actions in opposition to the Maduro regime and the nation’s drug community.

After the award was introduced in October, the brand new Nobel Peace Prize winner devoted the award to each Trump and the “struggling individuals of Venezuela.”

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Venezuelan ship destroyed throughout US navy assault on Venezuela on September 2, 2025. (@realDonaldTrump by way of Fact Social)

Machado mentioned throughout a “Fox & Mates Weekend” interview final month that Venezuela was on the “threshold of freedom,” highlighting her new “freedom manifesto” that envisions a future with out the Maduro regime.

Fox Information Digital’s Morgan Phillips and The Related Press contributed to this report.