Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado defied travel restrictions and arrived in Oslo, Norway, where she greeted supporters outside the Grand Hotel. Machado had been in hiding for 16 months due to death threats.
Appearing on the balcony, she waved to crowds singing the Venezuelan national anthem before joining them in the street. Machado told the BBC she knew the risks of traveling: “After 16 months, I could finally hug the people I love.”
She accused President Nicolás Maduro’s government of operating as a “criminal structure” and called on the international community to cut off funding sources for the regime. Machado said her team is ready for a peaceful political transition but that Maduro rejected talks.