Nobel winner Machado calls for end to 'tyranny' in Venezuela

Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado arrived in Oslo early Thursday, hours after her daughter accepted the prize on her behalf.
The Venezuelan opposition leader wasn't able to reach the Norwegian capital in time for the award ceremony on Wednesday.
What you need to know
Machado has appeared in public for the first time in 11 months in Norway's capital, Oslo
Machado's daughter accepted the award on her mother's behalf on Wednesday
Machado reportedly secretly left Venezuela by boat before flying from Curacao
In her first public statements since winning the prize, Machado pledged to end the 'tyranny' of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro
She said she was always working on behalf of the Venezuelan people and plans to return to her country, though she did not specify when
Machado waves to supporters in first public appearance in 11 months
The 58-year-old opposition leader spent more than a year in hiding after Nicolas Maduro declared victory in elections last year.
Reports say she first traveled by boat to the Caribbean island of Curacao, which is home to a small US military base.
"I can confirm that Maria Corina Machado has arrived in Oslo," Nobel committee head Joergen Watne Frydnes told people gathered at the Grand Hotel.
Machado's daughter, Ana Corina Sosa Machado, accepted the prize on behalf of her mother at the award ceremony on Wednesday.
She said they would finally be able to embrace after "16 months of living hell."
What did Machado say?
After greeting her family, the Nobel laureate gave a short public statement.
"I came to receive the prize on behalf of the Venezuelan people and I will take it back to Venezuela at the correct moment," she told reporters as she left the Norwegian parliament on Thursday.
Machado did not specify when she would return, but said she wanted "to end with this tyranny very soon and have a free Venezuela".
Authorities in Caracas had warned that Machado would become a "fugitive" if she left the country.
Under Maduro's rule, anyone "who wants to speak the truth is in danger," Machado said.
During a press conference later on Thursday, she thanked those who "risked their lives" to get her out of Venezuela, and that she didn't think the government knew where she had been hiding.
When asked about the government's conflict with the US, and a possible threat of invasion, she said that Venezuela was "already invaded" by Russian agents, criminal gangs, and other groups.
Why was Machado in hiding?
Despite winning the opposition primary, Machado was barred from running in the 2024 presidential election. She then went into hiding in August 2024 after authorities expanded arrests of opposition figures following the disputed vote.
Election authorities and the top court declared President Nicolas Maduro the winner, though international observers and the opposition say their candidate won and have published tallies as evidence.
Nobel organizers awaited Machado's safe arrival
A large portrait of Machado hung in Oslo City Hall during the ceremony, and the audience applauded when it was announced by Frydnes that she would soon arrive.
He took to evoking Nelson Mandela and Lech Walesa, as he said democracy activists face moral dilemmas "their opponents never display."
"People living under the dictatorship often have to choose between the difficult and the impossible," he said.
Edited by Roshni Majumdar, Karl Sexton