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Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said she is hopeful her country “will be free again” as she briefly recounted how she escaped the Maduro regime’s attempts to detain her. Speaking after the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Machado described the risks she faced, the help she received, and why she believes the fight for democracy in Venezuela is entering a decisive phase. This clip captures her full remarks in English, as she expresses gratitude to supporters worldwide and reaffirms her commitment to restoring freedom, justice, and democratic rights in Venezuela.
00:00Well, first I'd like to express a very warm welcome on behalf of the government of Norway
00:04and may I say on behalf of all Norwegians to this year's Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado
00:11to see you safe and sound at last. We waited for you and I told you today that that noble ceremony
00:19was not without you. You had a tremendous presence in that hall, not only the picture
00:25but also the voice of your daughter with reading your message. And the dinner at the hotel yesterday
00:33where we all kind of were counting down to see you arriving in Oslo was an emotional moment
00:40and I think it brought your message, your story and your struggle for democracy very close
00:45to the Norwegian public. And that was a strong moment. All the better to see you here standing today.
00:52You are heartly welcome. The noble committee makes its choice on every year's prize based on
01:02interpreting the will of Alfred Nobel. And I think this year's prize has a special significance by
01:09the very strong emphasis of the link between a democracy that works as a democracy and the way to
01:15freedom and peace. Not only between nations but in nation. So in Venezuela we have a situation where
01:26authoritarian regime is waging war on its people with millions of refugees and injustice. And there cannot be peace
01:37until democracy and elections are respected. So that is the message that we are receiving of great importance
01:46for Venezuela but also a message that has universal bearing. And this is all about fighting for your
01:53fundamental human rights at the time when democracy is under threat. There are so many countries where this is
01:59relevant today. Unfortunately, there are fewer democracies, more authoritarian regimes. That is the trend.
02:04So I would like simply to salute you, Madam Laureate, for your struggle. It has cost you a lot. It costs you and your family and your people a lot.
02:16And I think what we heard from your daughter yesterday and from your family and the people who came here,
02:22thinking about those who are today in jail, those who suffered, those who have aspirations for democracy,
02:27that is a strong message of these noble laureate days in Oslo.
02:34But Maria, please, you have the floor.
02:36Thank you very much, Prime Minister. And thank you all. And I want to speak to the Norwegian people,
02:45European people, to the Venezuelan people. I would say to all citizens of the world in this hour,
02:52and assure you that I am very hopeful Venezuela will be free, and we will turn a country into a beacon of hope,
03:02an opportunity of democracy. And we will welcome not only the Venezuelans that have been forced to flee,
03:09but citizens from all over the world that will find a refuge as Venezuela used to be decades ago.
03:16And as I mentioned, well, Ana Corina read yesterday, I believe that our experience in Venezuela
03:30conveys to the world a testimony that certainly in order to have peace, you require democracy.
03:38Democracy is the system that enables peace in a society. But you cannot have democracy without freedom.
03:47And freedom is an individual decision, a rational decision. And it's the sum of these individual,
03:56conscious decisions that bring that collective ethos that creates the force, the strength, and the courage
04:06to fight for freedom, to defend when you've got it. And that courage comes from the things that truly
04:15matter in your life, the things that you love. And when you feel that those things are most in danger,
04:22then the courage increases. That's why I am convinced that peace ultimately is an act of love.
04:31And that's what brought me here. The love of millions of Venezuelans for our country,
04:40for freedom, and for children. And I believe there's no other generation in the history of Venezuela
04:48Venezuela that loves more freedom or family and our soul or territory. The possibility of actually being in your homeland,
04:59in moving freely in your homeland, because we have lost it. And as I mentioned to you,
05:06the force that brought this country, our nation together was this longing that we want our children back home.
05:16And we will not stop until they do that. And we give them a country in which they can live with dignity,
05:26with justice, and the responsibility that comes with freedom. So we have great admiration for Norway's
05:35institutions and democracy. We share benefits that nature has given us. And we admire the way this society
05:50has used them on behalf of your people, quite the country of what has happened in Venezuela. So we have
05:57to learn and we have used Norway as an example several times during these decades. And believe me,
06:03we will turn Venezuela into that energy, technological, and democracy hub of the Americas.
06:11And we count on you. And I long for that day and we will host all of you in a bright, democratic,
06:20and free country. And it's going to be soon. So thank you very much and very honored and grateful to the
06:27novel committee for this recognition to the Venezuelan people, to a great movement. I'm just one of that
06:36millions of people that form it. And I do believe it is a recognition to democracy as well. So thank you very much.
06:46Thank you. So then we open up for questions. And the first question comes from the Norwegian broadcaster,
06:52TV2.
06:54So I'm from TV2 Norway. I have a question for you, Maria Corina Machado. You arrived just a few hours ago,
07:02and you got to reunite with your family in a very long time. How was that first meeting, and how has your
07:09first hours in Oslo been? I couldn't sleep last night going over and over again that first instant
07:22when I saw my children. And for many weeks, I had been thinking of that possibility.
07:30And which one of them I would hug first. And to tell you something, I hugged them the three at the
07:38same time. And it's been one of the most extraordinary spiritual moments of my life. And that happened in
07:48Oslo. So I'm very grateful to this city, something I will never forget. Because at the end, I'm just one of
07:54millions of mothers that are longing to embrace their children and are not able to do that. That
08:01brings us together. And I made a promise to them. I would come here on their behalf to receive the
08:10prize. And I will take that prize back to them. Because we will make it what I experienced hours ago. We
08:21will make it a reality for every one of them. Those that have their children in jail, persecuted in
08:26exile. We will make that happen. The next question comes from the Swedish broadcaster, Sveriges Radio.
08:35Hello, Dave Rasmussen, Swedish Radio. Yesterday, the US seized a ship outside the coast of Venezuela.
08:44Would you welcome a US military intervention in Venezuela?
08:51Look, some people talk about invasion in Venezuela and the threat of an invasion in Venezuela. And I
08:58answered Venezuela has been already invaded. We have the Russian agents. We have the Iranian agents.
09:05We have terrorist groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas operating freely in accordance with the regime.
09:11We have the Colombian guerrilla, the drug cartels that have taken over 60 percent of our populations. And
09:18not only involving drug trafficking, but in human trafficking, in networks of prostitution. So
09:25this has turned Venezuela into the criminal hub of the Americas. And what sustains the regime is a very
09:32powerful and funded, strongly funded repression system. Where does that funds come from?
09:39Well, from drug trafficking, from the black market of oil, from arms trafficking, for human trafficking.
09:46We need to cut those flows. And once it happens, and repression is weakened,
09:53it's over. Because that's the only thing the regime has left, violence and terror. So we ask the
10:00international community to cut those sources. Because the other regimes that support Maduro and the
10:08criminal structure are very active, and have turned Venezuela into the safe heaven for their operations
10:15into the rest of Latin America. Thank you.
10:18The next question comes from the Norwegian broadcaster NRK.
10:26You have had meetings with politicians at the Norwegian parliament and Prime Minister
10:30Störe this morning. Have you asked for any kind of support from the Norwegian government for your fight for
10:36democracy in Venezuela? We had a great conversation this morning. And I am very excited also with what I
10:45experienced at the parliament. I am a former member of the parliament. And to see an actual parliament
10:52working with representatives of parties in all the spectrum, passionately and respectfully defending
11:01their views is something I, you know, means so much. And yes, the answer is yes. Not only right now,
11:10we need to speak out, to tell the truth, so that people understand what our country is suffering,
11:17what our political prisoners are going through. Children in Venezuela only go twice a week to public
11:25schools, because teachers earn $1 a day. So they have to get other jobs. So we have our children in the
11:34streets. And you know what it means in terms of the future and the risks they run. So yes, we need to speak
11:41out. We need to cut these resources that support repression now. But also, we will need a lot of
11:52ideas and advice regarding, you know, building up institutions such as the energy agency that we want
12:04to build in Venezuela for the new hydrocarbon sector that will, you know, arise in our country.
12:14Can I just follow up to say that the laureate does not have to ask for that support, because we respect the
12:20will of the Venezuelan people. And that is clear. They expressed under very difficult circumstances
12:26their views in an election, which gave, according to all sources, international and domestic,
12:32overwhelming response. They want another course. They want a democratic regime. And for Norway, you know,
12:39respecting the rule of law and the main principles of the UN charter is key. So we want to see that change
12:46happen. I think what we learned from these days talking to not only Venezuelan guests, but also
12:51representatives of Latin America is that you need a combination of what comes from inside and what
12:57comes from outside. And we are from outside. And we are, of course, ready to support Venezuela,
13:02democratic Venezuela, in building new and sound institutions. They can count on that.
13:07And the last question today comes from CNN. Hi, Marocorina. I'm Pao Mosquera with CNN. So now you've been in
13:16hiding for many, many months. Do you think that the government may have known where were you during this time?
13:23I don't think they have known where I have been. And certainly they would have done everything to stop me
13:32from coming here. And actually, I want to take advantage of your question to thank
13:42all those men and women that risked their life so that I could be here today.
13:49One day I will be able to tell you, because certainly I don't want to put them in risk right now.
13:56It was quite an experience. But I think it's worthwhile being here with you, telling the world
14:06what's happening in Venezuela, what it means to you as Norwegians and as Europeans or from all the
14:15places where you come from. Why Venezuela matters for the world. I mean, when you fight for freedom,
14:23you're fighting for humanity. And when we win because we will, this will be an extraordinary
14:33example for those countries that today do not have freedom and that have tell people are telling them
14:39what we used to hear that it was impossible, impossible to achieve it. And we decided to fight.
14:53well, we planted on events that הקŁure on the other side of the world. And we did so
15:08how about this. This turned tournament that was different now.
15:12And I think about it when the時 was never true, I didn't get back to Beethoven when the seven
15:14nugget five and one of them there was nothing here that might be talking about involved inıl
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