Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado told Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa this Tuesday that December 10—the date scheduled for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, which she is set to receive—will be “a historic day for democracy” in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Via the social media platform X, Machado also stated that she hopes to reaffirm “the brotherhood between the peoples of Ecuador and Venezuela” with Noboa on that day.
“On behalf of Venezuelans, I thank you for this heartfelt tribute in recognition of the heroic struggle of our brave people,” said Machado in response to a post by the Ecuadorian president, in which he confirmed accepting the “personal invitation” she extended to accompany her at the Nobel ceremony.
In his message, Noboa predicted that December 10 would be an “important” day for the Americas, adding, “It will be an honor to stand beside the laureate in Norway.”
“Your fight represents the courage of an entire region that refuses to surrender, that refuses to go backward. See you there, as from the beginning: on the same side of history,” the president added.
Machado was awarded the prize “for her tireless work in promoting democratic rights for the Venezuelan people and her efforts to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy,” according to the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo.
Last October, the former congresswoman stated that she would only be able to travel to Oslo in December to receive the Nobel Prize if Nicolás Maduro is no longer in power.
She made this clear in an interview with the Norwegian newspaper _Dagens Naeringsliv_, cited by the Norwegian news agency NTB, emphasizing that for her to travel to the Nordic capital, “Venezuela must be free.”
“As long as Maduro remains in power, I cannot leave the place where I’m hiding because there are direct threats against my life,” Machado told the Norwegian outlet.
Since 2024, Machado has claimed that opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia—currently in exile in Spain—was the true winner of the July 28 presidential election.
According to her and the main opposition coalition, Democratic Unitary Platform, González Urrutia won the contest, despite the electoral authority—controlled by pro-government officials—declaring Maduro re-elected. He was sworn in last January for a third consecutive six-year term.
