The Nobel Peace Prize Committee in Norway retracted and announced that the leader of the opposition in Venezuela will not come to receive the award • A few days ago it was reported that she is expected to be present at the ceremony, but it is estimated that she is afraid that she will not be able to enter the country again • Report: The Trump administration is formulating plans “for the day after” the overthrow of President Nicolás Maduro
Maria Corina Machado, the leader of the opposition in Venezuela, will not attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to be held today (Wednesday) in Oslo, the capital of Norway. Machado, who has not been seen in public since January, will not be present at the ceremony, and her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa Machado, will be present and receive the prestigious award in her place.
The management of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee announced earlier today that Machado will not attend the ceremony in Oslo, although in recent days it has announced that she is expected to attend. “We don’t know where she is, but she must not be in Norway,” the committee said. In the wee hours, an update was received from the award committee, stating that Machado is “safe”, and although she will not arrive in Oslo to receive the award today, she is expected to arrive there later.
Claudia Mesro, spokeswoman for Machado, stated that although she will not be able to attend the ceremony, they are optimistic about Machado’s continued participation in other events during the day. She did not reveal where Machado is now.
The ceremony, which will be held in Oslo’s City Hall, is expected to also attract heads of state from Latin America who have expressed support for Machado. Among others, the President of Argentina Javier Millay, the President of Ecuador Daniel Novoa, and the President of Paraguay Santiago Peña are expected to participate – each of them has previously declared solidarity with the leader of the opposition in Venezuela and opposes President Nicolás Maduro.
One of the estimates is that Machado prefers not to leave Venezuela, fearing that she will not be able to return there after receiving the award.
Machado’s struggle
Machado, 58, won the Nobel Peace Prize for her ongoing struggle for a democratic change of government in Venezuela, while fighting the rule of President Nicolas Maduro. Last year she won the opposition primaries, and was supposed to face Maduro in the presidential elections. But the authorities prevented her from running for office, and instead the former diplomat, Edmundo Gonzalez, was chosen to run in her place – who, according to all estimates, won the elections, which were stolen by the regime.
After the announcement of the Nobel Prize, Machado dedicated the prize, among other things, to US President Donald Trump, who expressed support for her struggle, against the backdrop of the US’s preparations to topple Maduro from power. Yesterday Trump said in an interview to Politico that “Maduro’s days are numbered”.
Machado’s award, given to her for her “persistence and uncompromising fight for democracy in her country”, was also seen as a sign of international support for the democratic outcome, which was silenced by the government. Machado became an international role model for the democratic struggle.
Yesterday CNN reported that the Trump administration is secretly formulating plans “for the day after” the fall of the Maduro regime in Venezuela. Two senior officials in the administration said that the plans are being written, against the background of the large military deployment off the coast of the country.