Arya News - Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado arrived in Oslo in the early hours of Thursday, after being honoured in absentia at the previous day`s Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. Early morning footage showed her appearing on a balcony of the Grand Hotel, before greeting supporters gathered outside in the Norwegian capital.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado arrived in Oslo in the early hours of Thursday, after being honoured in absentia at the previous day"s Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.
Early morning footage showed her appearing on a balcony of the Grand Hotel, before greeting supporters gathered outside in the Norwegian capital. Earlier, they had sung the Venezuelan national anthem and chanted "libertad, libertad" (freedom).
According to a media report, the 58-year-old left Venezuela with her entourage by passing various military posts in disguise and wearing a wig.
She reportedly travelled from a suburb of Caracas to the Venezuelan coast, where she was taken by fishing boat to the Caribbean island of Curaçao and finally flew via the United States to Norway by private jet.
She later described an emotional reunion with her adult children.
"I couldn"t sleep last night going over and over again the first instant when I saw my children," the Venezuelan opposition leader said on Thursday at a press conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
Machado said she had longed for that moment for weeks, wondering which of her grown-up children she would hug first. "I hugged them the three at the same time, and it has been one of the most extraordinary, spiritual moments of my life," she said.
On Wednesday, her daughter Ana Corina Sosa Machado accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf at the official award ceremony in Oslo"s City Hall.
The Venezuelan government criticized the Nobel Prize ceremony as a political stunt. Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said on state television: "It looked like a wake, it was a total failure. The show failed because the lady [Machado] did not show up."
Rodríguez described Machado"s award as "a bloodstained prize."
Democracy "essential to peace"
Machado received this year"s prize "for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy."
She also read the Nobel lecture that Machado had written for the occasion.
"This prize carries profound meaning; it reminds the world that democracy is essential to peace," Machado said in the speech. Venezuela’s long and difficult journey, she said, showed that freedom must be fought for if democracy is to be achieved.
Machado repeated the message in person on Thursday.
"Our experience in Venezuela conveys to the world a testimony that in order to have peace, you require democracy," she said. "Democracy is the system that enables peace in a society. But you cannot have democracy without freedom."
Opposition figurehead
A central figure of the Venezuelan opposition, Machado was a driving force behind last year"s campaign of opposition candidate Edmundo González, whom government critics and several foreign governments view as the rightful winner of the presidential election.
Despite widespread fraud allegations, authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro declared himself the victor. González later fled to Spain and many other opposition figures have also left the country.
Since being awarded this year"s Nobel Peace Prize, Machado has come under isolated criticism for not condemning the increased US military presence in the Caribbean and deadly attacks on boats.
She dedicated the award to US President Donald Trump, who had his own eyes on the Peace Prize.
Asked on Thursday whether she would welcome a US military intervention in Venezuela, Machado replied evasively, noting that the country was already infiltrated by Russian and Iranian agents, as well as militant groups such as the Islamist Hamas, who were cooperating with the Maduro leadership.
On top of this came guerrillas and drug cartels, she noted.
"This has turned Venezuela into the criminal hub of the Americas," Machado said.
"We ask the international community to cut those sources," she added, arguing that income from black-market oil sales and illegal trafficking are enabling the "strongly funded repression system" that sustains the Maduro regime.
What next for Machado?
Machado is under investigation in Venezuela on charges including treason and had spent more than a year largely in hiding before her trip to Oslo.
Prosecutors previously said she would be considered a fugitive if she left the country. On returning to Venezuela, she could face arrest or be denied entry.
The big question is therefore what Machado will do next. Asked in Oslo about her plans, her response was vague.
She said she was taking each day as it comes, but first wanted to spend some time with colleagues, friends and her children - as well as arranging some doctor"s visits after her time in hiding. She spoke of having some "useful" meetings before heading back to Venezuela as soon as possible.
"I will be back in Venezuela. Of that I have no doubt," Machado said.
Norway"s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado attend a press conference at the government"s representative facilities in Oslo. Stian Lysberg Solum/NTB/dpa