Oslo, Norway — December 10, 2025 – The chair stood empty, but the message was louder than ever.
In a ceremony charged with emotion and political defiance, Ana Corina Sosa Machado accepted the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of her mother, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. The event at Oslo City Hall became a global rallying cry for democracy as Sosa Machado delivered a speech written by her mother, who remains in hiding following the disputed 2024 Venezuelan elections.
“Venezuela will breathe again,” Sosa Machado told the hushed audience of dignitaries, royalty, and activists. “We will open prison doors and watch thousands who were unjustly detained step into the warm sun… We will hug again. Fall in love again. Hear our streets fill with laughter and music.”
A Journey Interrupted
The ceremony was marked by a dramatic “will she, won’t she” tension that lasted until the final hours. Nobel Committee Chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes revealed that Machado had attempted a “journey of extreme danger” to reach Oslo but was unable to arrive in time due to security threats.
“Although she will not be able to reach this ceremony… we are profoundly happy to confirm that she is safe,” Frydnes said, addressing the portrait of Machado that stood in her place. He then delivered a stinging rebuke to the regime of Nicolás Maduro: “You should accept the election results and step down… Let a new age dawn.”
“Freedom is Something We Become”
Reading her mother’s words, Ana Corina described the collapse of Venezuelan democracy not as a sudden event, but as a slow erosion caused by taking freedom for granted.
“My generation was born in a vibrant democracy, and we assumed freedom was as permanent as the air we breathed,” she read, her voice steady. “But even the strongest democracy weakens when its citizens forget that freedom is not something we wait for, but something we become.”
The speech painted a vivid picture of the “long march to freedom” undertaken by millions of Venezuelans, from the diaspora scattered across the globe to those “whispering the language of freedom” in Caracas.
Global Solidarity
The absence of the laureate placed a spotlight on the geopolitical crisis in Venezuela. The ceremony was attended by several Latin American leaders, including Argentine President Javier Milei and Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, signalling a united regional front against the Maduro regime.
Machado, often called Venezuela’s “Iron Lady,” was awarded the prize in October for her “tireless work promoting democratic rights” and her non-violent struggle to achieve a transition of power. Her win has been viewed as a direct challenge to the authoritarian grip of Maduro, who has accused her of treason and terrorism.
As the ceremony concluded with a standing ovation, the focus returned to the promise made in Machado’s letter: that the “darkness” is temporary, and the reunion of Venezuelan families is inevitable.
“We are returning to ourselves,” the speech concluded. “We are returning home.”
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