María Corina Machado emerged publicly Thursday in Norway for the first time in nearly a year, while her daughter received the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf.
Machado had remained in seclusion since January 9, following a short detention after gathering with backers in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital. She earned this distinction after leading a nonviolent opposition to the administration of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Onlookers shouted “Freedom!” as Machado walked onto a hotel balcony in Oslo, Norway, gesturing to her supporters before participating with them in Venezuela’s national anthem.
In a phone call audio recording posted on the Nobel website, Machado explained she could not reach Oslo before the ceremony, though numerous individuals had “risked their lives” to enable her presence.
“I am very grateful to them, and this is a measure of what this recognition means to the Venezuelan people,” she remarked.
Her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, accepted the Nobel Prize for her mother, stating that she “wants to live in a free Venezuela” and “will never give up on that purpose.”
“That is why we all know, and I know, that she will be back in Venezuela very soon,” Sosa continued.
Beyond the hotel, Machado met and embraced crowd members, who took photos and greeted her with cries of “President! President!”
“I want you all back in Venezuela,” Machado told them.
Machado’s arrival followed President’s Wednesday announcement that the U.S. had taken control of a Venezuelan oil tanker, potentially worsening relations with Maduro’s leadership, which already faces broad U.S. oil sector sanctions.
Since September, have struck alleged narcotraffickers near Venezuela at least 22 times, causing 87 deaths. Trump has also recently declared Maduro’s “days are numbered” and would not exclude a Venezuela ground mission.
Steve Yates, senior research fellow for China and national security policy at The Heritage Foundation, said on ” @ Night” Wednesday that Machado’s foreign trip offered a chance to gain “greater international support” for her movement, noting Trump could gain from more European allies backing a “non-invasion” strategy.
The Venezuelan opposition figure has previously voiced strong backing for the against Maduro’s regime and the nation’s narcotrafficking system.
When the award was announced in October, the fresh Nobel Peace Prize recipient dedicated the honor to both Trump and the “suffering people of Venezuela.”
Machado told “Fox & Friends Weekend” last month that Venezuela stood at the “,” showcasing her new “freedom manifesto” picturing a future without Maduro’s regime.
Digital’s Morgan Phillips and