Venezuelan opposition leader in Oslo after Nobel ceremony

已複製連結

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado didn't arrive in Norway early enough to receive her Nobel Peace Prize in person.

Machado's daughter accepted the award on her behalf in a ceremony Wednesday that became a rally for democracy, and equally, an indictment of Venezuela's government, with attendees hearing in detail documented human rights abuses carried out 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 purpose," Ana Corina Sosa told the audience in Oslo before reading her mother's prepared remarks. "That is why we all know, and I know, that she will be back in Venezuela very soon."

Machado greeted supporters from an Oslo hotel balcony early Thursday after arriving in the Norwegian capital. 

Machado had not been seen in public since Jan. 9, when she was briefly detained after joining supporters in an anti-government protest in Caracas, Venezuela's capital. The following day, Maduro was sworn in to a third six-year term despite credible evidence that he lost the presidential election.

On Wednesday, some Venezuelans understood her decision to depart while others questioned why she was awarded the Nobel.

"They say she left the country, if that's true, good for her," office worker Josefina Páez said in Caracas. "That woman has made many sacrifices to fight for democracy, and it's time she reunites with her family, with her children, and continues fighting from abroad."

Meanwhile, shopkeeper José Hurtado called Machado a "traitor" for her support of U.S. President Donald Trump's policy toward Venezuela.