Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado's daughter accepts Nobel Peace Prize on mother's behalf - Watch
Maria Corina Machado was declared the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner in October amid Donald Trump's repeated claims that he “deserves” the award, citing his assertions about “stopping seven wars,” missed out on the honour.
TOPSHOT - Ana Corina Sosa, daughter of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, receives the Nobel Peace Prize for her mother at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony at Oslo City Hall on December 10, 2025 in Oslo, Norway. The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Machado for her efforts to bring democracy to Venezuela, challenging the iron-fisted rule of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who has been president since 2013. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP)(AFP)
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado's daughter Ana Corina Sosa stepped onto the stage to receive the Nobel Peace Prize 2025 on her mother's behalf Wednesday, just hours after officials announced that Machado would not be able to attend the ceremony. She was declared the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner in October amid Donald Trump's repeated claims that he “deserves” the award, citing his assertions about “stopping seven wars,” missed out on the honour.
Machado has been in hiding and has not been seen in public since 9 January this year, when she was briefly detained after joining supporters in a protest in Caracas, Venezuela's capital.
Machado in Oslo
Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee, told the award ceremony that “Maria Corina Machado has done everything in her power to be able to attend the ceremony here today — a journey in a situation of extreme danger.”
“Although she will not be able to reach this ceremony and today's events, we are profoundly happy to confirm that she is safe, and that she will be with us here in Oslo,” he said to applause.
The director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute and Machado's spokesperson said earlier Wednesday that she wouldn't be able to attend the ceremony. Her daughter Ana Corina Sosa did instead.
Who is Maria Corina Machado?
Maria Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize 2025 for her relentless advocacy for democracy in Venezuela, beating US President Donald Trump's chances of securing the award. The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced its decision in October 2025.
Born in 1967, Maria Corina Machado has been at the forefront of the fight for democracy amid growing authoritarianism in Venezuela. She is now the leader of the opposition in the country.
Machado studied engineering and finance and briefly worked in business. In 1992, she founded the Atenea Foundation, which aims to support street children in Caracas.
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A picture of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado during the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony at Oslo City Hall, in Oslo, Norway, Wednesday Dec. 10, 2025. (Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB Scanpix, Pool via AP)(AP)
Maria Corina Machado said in an audio recording of a phone call published on the Nobel website that many people had “risked their lives” for her to arrive in Oslo.
“I am very grateful to them, and this is a measure of what this recognition means to the Venezuelan people,” she said before indicating she was about to board a plane.
“I know that there are hundreds of Venezuelans from different parts of the world who were able to reach your city that are right now in Oslo, family, my team, so many colleagues,” Machado added.
“And since this is a prize for all Venezuelans, I believe that it will be received by them. And as soon as I arrive, I will be able to embrace all my family and my children that I've not seen for two years, and so many Venezuelans, Norwegians that I know that share our struggle and our fight.”
