After months of hiding, María Corina Machado, Venezuelan opposition leader, arrived in Oslo, Norway, in the middle of the night to collect her Nobel Peace Prize. The Venezuelan leader credits President Trump for helping her reach this moment.
Breitbart reported that after spending more than a year in hiding from constant threats from the socialist Maduro regime, Machado appeared in Norway. Her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa Machado, received the award on her behalf on Wednesday, as Machado was unable to arrive at the ceremony on time.
On Thursday morning, Machado held two press conferences, one with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and one with the Nobel Peace Prize Committee. During the second conference, Breitbart reports that Machado confirmed that the U.S. helped her escape her country, but was limited to how many details she could share.
“First of all, for the reasons you mentioned, I cannot go into details because these are people who could be in danger. Certainly, the regime would have done everything in its power to prevent me from coming,” said Machado, and added, “They did not know where I was, where I was hiding in Venezuela. It was difficult for them to get me.”
According to PBS, she also credited President Trump for helping, saying he “has been decisive to reach where we are now, where the regime is significantly weaker.”
Machado won the Peace Prize in October for her achievement in transitioning from dictatorship to democracy in the South American country. USA Today reports that the Wall Street Journal was the first to report her escape route, in which she slipped through military checkpoints in Venezuela by wearing a wig and a disguise. After that, Machado boarded a fishing boat bound for the Caribbean island Curaçao and flew on a private jet to Norway.
On Thursday, Machado vowed to take the prize back to her homeland, saying, “I came to receive the prize on behalf of the Venezuelan people, and I will take it back to Venezuela at the correct moment.”
For now, it is still unclear how Machado could return to Venezuela.