Daughter of Venezuela Opposition Leader Accepts Nobel Peace Prize

From the beginning, we believed something simple and immense: that all human beings are born to be free. That conviction became our national soul.

Speech delivered by Ana Corina Sosa Machado on behalf of her mother, this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner and Venezuelan opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado.

Why It Matters: Machado received the international honor for her “tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela” (Nobel Prize Organization). Her critique of the current authoritarian government and her advocacy for democracy have forced her into hiding; the current regime has enforced a travel ban to prevent her from leaving the country. However, according to a recording attributed to her, and a message confirmed by her daughter, she escaped Venezuela and is traveling to Oslo to see her family for the first time in two years — a trip described as a “journey in a situation of extreme danger.” At the time of this writing, she had yet to arrive.

Machado joins a select group of past winners who also could not attend the ceremony in person:
From The Associated Press:

“Five past Nobel Peace Prize laureates were detained or imprisoned at the time of the award, according to the prize’s official website, most recently Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi in 2023 and Belarusian human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski in 2022.

“The others were Liu Xiaobo of China in 2010, Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar in 1991 and Carl von Ossietzky of Germany in 1935.”

Learn More:

• Watch The Full Speech
• Read It HERE
• Machado’s daughter accepts Nobel Peace Prize in Venezuelan opposition leader’s absence (AP)