In a dramatic public reappearance, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado addressed supporters in Norway on Thursday after eleven months in hiding. The event marked her first public appearance since receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, which was accepted on her behalf by her daughter the previous day for her relentless pursuit of democratic transition in Venezuela.
Machado, who has become the symbolic face of resistance against Venezuela’s 26-year ruling party, had been evading authorities since January 9th when she was briefly detained during anti-government protests in Caracas. From her hotel balcony, she waved to cheering crowds before delivering a determined message to reporters: “My return will be when we believe the security conditions are right, and it won’t depend on whether or not the regime leaves. It will be as soon as possible.”
The industrial engineer turned politician began challenging the establishment in 2004 when she co-founded Súmate, an organization that promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chávez. Her political trajectory intensified in 2010 when she was elected to the National Assembly with record-breaking votes, using her platform to boldly confront Chávez about his economic policies.
Despite winning the opposition’s presidential primary with over 90% of the vote in 2023, Machado was barred from appearing on the ballot by the ruling party-controlled judiciary. She subsequently threw her support behind former diplomat Edmundo González, campaigning extensively across Venezuela while facing government persecution that resulted in the arrest of numerous collaborators.
The July 2024 election saw González defeat President Nicolás Maduro by a two-to-one margin according to opposition records, but the National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner. The government responded to nationwide protests with brutal repression, arresting over 2,000 people allegedly involved in plots to oust Maduro.
While Machado’s unquestioning support for Trump administration policies has created some divisions within the opposition, she remains steadfast in her mission. On Thursday, she called for concrete action from international democracies, stating: “The one who has declared war on Venezuelans is the Maduro regime. In criminal systems, we need the world’s democracies to support our citizens.”