maria corina machado daughter: Where is Maria Corina Machado? Daughter Ana Corina Sosa Machado receives Nobel Peace Prize 2025 on her behalf, blistering acceptance speech goes viral

Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Wednesday called on her citizens to fight for freedom against “state terrorism” as she said she would come out of hiding and travel to Norway after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in his absence. Machado, who won the Nobel Prize for challenging President Nicolas Maduro’s grip on power, had not been seen in public for months following threats against his life.

His daughter accepted the award on his behalf in Oslo, Norway, and delivered a scathing acceptance speech criticizing the country’s leader for crimes against the Venezuelan people.

Ana Corina Sosa Machado Nobel Peace Prize 2025 Speech

“What we Venezuelans can offer the world is the lesson learned in this long and difficult journey: To have democracy, we must be willing to fight for freedom,” said Ana Corina Sosa Machado.

In a meeting with Nobel Committee chairman Jorgen Watne Frydnes just before the ceremony, Machado said he was “very upset and very upset” that he would not make it in time and would be heading to Oslo.

Frydnes, on the other hand, called on Maduro to accept his election defeat in 2024 and resign. In his speech to applause, he added, “Lay the foundation for a peaceful transition to democracy. Because this is the will of the Venezuelan people.”
Machado also condemned kidnappings and torture under Maduro’s rule. “These are crimes against humanity documented by the United Nations. State terrorism implemented to bury the will of the people,” his daughter said. Although he was not at the ceremony, Nobel officials said he was “safe” and would arrive in Oslo no later than Thursday.

Venezuela warned Machado that she would be labeled a “fugitive” if she left the country and risked arrest if she tried to re-enter, but her daughter assured viewers in Oslo that her mother would return.

Ana Corina Sosa Machado said, “He wants to live in a free Venezuela and he will never give up on that goal. So we all know and I know he will return to Venezuela very soon.” he said.

Machado’s mother and three daughters and some Latin American heads of state, including Argentinian President Javier Milei, were in Norway for the awards ceremony at Oslo City Hall.

Although organizers said Machado had previously indicated he would attend, doubts had already been raised when the traditional press conference with the award winner on Tuesday was first postponed and then cancelled.

Machado accused Maduro of stealing Venezuela’s July 2024 election, from which he was banned. His claim is supported by much of the international community.

He has been praised for his efforts towards democracy, but also criticized for aligning himself with US President Donald Trump, to whom he dedicated his Nobel Prize.

The Oslo ceremony coincides with a massive US military buildup in the Caribbean in recent weeks and deadly attacks on what Washington says are drug-smuggling boats.

Maduro insists that the goal of the US operations, which Machado says is right, is to overthrow the government and seize Venezuela’s oil reserves.

Where is Maria Corina Machado?

Since going into hiding, Machado has made his only public appearance on January 9, in Caracas, where he protested Maduro’s third-term inauguration. The opposition claimed that its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, won the election. He currently lives in exile and was in Oslo on Wednesday.

Many other Nobel Peace Prize winners were unable to receive their awards in person. Family members often do this on their behalf, Nobel Institute director Kristian Berg Harpviken explained this week.

Doubts had grown about how Machado would return to Venezuela if he made the trip. His refusal to leave the country helped increase his political power there.

“Even if the authorities have shown him more restraint than others, he still risks being arrested if he returns, because detaining him would have a very strong symbolic value,” said Benedicte Bull, a professor specializing in Latin America at the University of Oslo.

On the other hand, he added, “He is the undisputed leader of the opposition, but if he remains in exile for a long time, I think this situation will change and he will gradually lose his political influence.”

Nobel Prize winners in medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and economics will receive their awards at a separate ceremony in Stockholm on Wednesday.