Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado will not be present to accept her award, as her daughter will receive it on her behalf.
The Venezuelan opposition leader was honored with the prestigious prize in October due to her contributions to advocating for ‘democratic rights for the people of Venezuela’.
The Nobel Institute annually bestows prizes in six distinct categories: Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Economic Sciences, and Peace.
Since their inception, the Nobel Prizes have been awarded 633 times to 1,026 individuals and organizations. The Peace Prize, according to the Prize’s website, is given to those who have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and the promotion of peace congresses.
Winners typically participate in a grand ceremony in Oslo, Norway, to honor their accomplishments. However, it has been verified that Machado will not be attending.
Machado, who was a presidential candidate in Venezuela in 2023 before their 2024 election, gained substantial popularity but was barred from running by the nation’s courts.
Following the election, which Nicolás Maduro won, Machado went into hiding. Maduro is often perceived as authoritarian by many international entities.
The election results were hotly contested by the opposition, with Machado and her supporters claiming she was the rightful winner.
Though Machado, now 58, has been seen publicly twice since going into hiding, her precise location remains undisclosed. The Venezuelan government has stated Machado would be deemed a ‘fugitive’ if she leaves the country.
Tarek William Saab, the attorney general of Venezuela, told AFP last month: “By being outside Venezuela and having numerous criminal investigations, she is considered a fugitive,” further accusing her of ‘acts of conspiracy, incitement of hatred, terrorism’.
Machado received the Nobel Peace 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’, as noted by the committee.
Initially, the Nobel Institute indicated she would attend Wednesday’s ceremony (December 10) in person, but on Tuesday, they admitted that they were unsure ‘when or how’ she would make the journey.
In a statement (via the BBC), they said: “María Corina Machado has herself stated in interviews how challenging the journey to Oslo, Norway will be. We therefore cannot at this point provide any further information about when and how she will arrive for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.”
However, Kristian Berg Harpviken, the Institute’s director, told Norway’s NRK radio that she wouldn’t be attending because of severe security threats.
“She simply lives with a death threat from the regime. That threat also applies when she is outside the country,” he stated.
The Nobel Institute has confirmed that Machado’s daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, will receive the prize on her behalf. Harpviken mentioned that she ‘will give the speech that María Corina herself wrote’.
The Norwegian Nobel Institute also noted that Machado had ‘done everything in her power to come to the ceremony today’ amidst ‘a situation of extreme danger’, expressing their relief that she remains safe even if she cannot attend the event in Oslo.
Machado will join a select group of individuals in history whose family members have accepted the award on their behalf.
A recent example is Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, who was awarded in 2023 while imprisoned in Iran. Her 17-year-old twin daughters, Ali and Kiana Rahmani, accepted the medal and diploma, delivering her speech at the Oslo City Hall ceremony.
In 2022, Belarusian human rights activist Ales Bialiatski was incarcerated and was represented by his wife, Natalia Pinchuk, at the ceremony.