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Nobel Peace Prize winner ‘keeps flame of democracy burning as darkness grows’
The Independent
|December 11, 2025
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was unable to accept award in Oslo due to regime's death threats
The daughter of 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado said her mother is determined to secure freedom in Venezuela as she accepted her mother's award.
Ana Corina Sosa Machado collected the gold medal and diploma, and received a standing ovation after the Venezuelan opposition leader – who has been forced to live in hiding for much of the year – was unable to reach Oslo in time for the ceremony.
It followed a chaotic 24 hours in which a press conference before the ceremony was cancelled without explanation and amid conflicting reports about whether Ms Machado would be able to attend in person.
Kristian Berg Harpviken, the head of the Nobel Institute, said that security threats meant that Ms Machado's life would be in danger on her journey to Oslo.
“She simply lives with a death threat from the regime. It extends beyond Venezuela's borders, from the regime and the regime's friends around the world,” Mr Harpviken told Norway's national broadcaster, NRK.
This story is from the December 11, 2025 edition of The Independent.
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