The daughter of María Corina Machado, the winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, has said her mother is determined to live in a free Venezuela and would “never give up on that purpose” as she accepted her mother’s award.The Venezuelan opposition leader was “safe” and will travel to Oslo, the Nobel Institute said, but was unable to make the awards ceremony scheduled for 12:00 GMT on Wednesday.Her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, accepted the award on her mother’s behalf and delivered a lecture written by her at the ceremony in Oslo’s City Hall.The Nobel Institute awarded Machado the prize for “her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy” in Venezuela.The opposition leader’s daughter started off her speech by speaking of the personal impact of not being able to see her mother for two years. Machado went into hiding shortly after Venezuela’s disputed presidential election in July 2024.Her daughter told the audience: “And as I wait that moment to hug her, to kiss her, to embrace her, after two years, I think of the other daughters and sons who do not get to see their mothers.”Sosa then gave a lecture that had been written by her mother, telling the audience that Venezuelans “will hug again. Fall in love again. Hear our streets fill with laughter and music.”She added: “All the simple joys the world takes for granted will be ours.”Because in the end, our journey towards freedom has always lived inside us. We are returning to ourselves. We are returning home.”The audience in Oslo’s City Hall, which included members of Norway’s royal family, gave Sosa a long round of applause and a standing ovation. There had been much speculation about whether Machado, who has been living in hiding, would be able to defy a travel ban t …
