AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Better late than never - that was the message from the Nobel Peace Prize committee today for this year's winner who did not quite make it to Norway for today's ceremony. Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado had been hiding inside Venezuela to avoid being arrested by her country's authoritarian regime. On her way to Oslo, she got delayed, as she reportedly escaped her country on a secret boat trip. As John Otis reports, her troubles in getting to Norway only dramatized her message that Venezuela is in dire need of regime change.
JOHN OTIS, BYLINE: Maria Corina Machado was supposed to arrive in Oslo yesterday where Latin American presidents, Venezuelan politicians and her family had gathered for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, but she was nowhere to be found. Finally, she connected by phone this morning with Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Nobel Institute.
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MARIA CORINA MACHADO: Hello.
JORGEN WATNE FRYDNES: Hello.
MACHADO: Jorgen?
FRYDNES: Hi.
MACHADO: Hi, Jorgen?
FRYDNES: Is it Maria Corina?
MACHADO: Yes.
FRYDNES: First, I just want to say we're so happy to hear your voice. We're so happy to hear that you're safe.
MACHADO: Me too.
OTIS: It turns out that Machado had to make a daring water departure from Venezuela but bad weather delayed her journey. According to U.S. officials, cited by the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, she took a clandestine boat trip to the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao before flying to Oslo. NPR could not independently confirm this. Machado said she was in, quote, "extreme danger" and that many people risked their lives to help her escape.
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MACHADO: As soon as I arrive, I will be able to embrace all my family and my children that I have not seen for two years.
OTIS: As Machado was flying across the Atlantic, the prize ceremony began.
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UNIDENTIFIED COMMENTATOR: The laureate's daughter, Ana Corina Sosa...
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OTIS: Machado was awarded the prize for her work to bring about a peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy in Venezuela, especially during last year's presidential election. Although she was banned from running in that race, she helped convince millions of Venezuelans to vote for her substitute candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez. According to voter tally sheets, Gonzalez trounced President Nicolas Maduro. Maduro refused to give up power, and his military crushed anti-government protests. But as Nobel chair Frydnes noted, Machado has continued to oppose his regime from hiding inside Venezuela.
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FRYDNES: Maria Corina Machado is one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in recent Latin American history.
OTIS: Frydnes then turned to Machado's daughter, Ana, who was standing in for her at the ceremony. Reciting her mother's words, she said the Nobel Peace Prize belongs to all Venezuelans who have sacrificed for their country's freedom.
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ANA CORINA SOSA: To them belongs this honor. To them belongs this day. To them belongs the future. Gracias.
(APPLAUSE)
OTIS: This ceremony took place as U.S. warships gather in the Caribbean and President Trump vows that Maduro's days are numbered. After trying all other means, Machado now supports U.S. military intervention to oust Maduro. That has made her a controversial recipient of the Peace Prize and has sparked scattered demonstrations. On Wednesday, Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said the Peace Prize was, quote, "stained in blood," and that Machado skipped the ceremony because she feared protests against her. But in his speech, Frydnes, the Nobel chair, called it a mistake to paint Machado and other Venezuelans trying to end a dictatorship as warmongers.
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FRYDNES: The narrative is turned upside down when the victims are branded as aggressors. This is a version of reality that the Maduro regime tells the world.
OTIS: For NPR News, I'm John Otis.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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