Global Gatherings Celebrate Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize Amid Venezuela Tensions
Hundreds of people gathered in Madrid this Saturday to show their support for Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado , who will receive the Nobel Peace Prize on Wednesday, an award they feel is also “for all the Venezuelan people.”
“All Venezuelans who want freedom and democracy feel hope and see themselves reflected in this recognition given to María Corina,” said opposition leader Leopoldo López , who lives in Madrid and whose Venezuelan nationality was revoked by the government last October.
” The Nobel Prize belongs to 30 million Venezuelans ,” “Peace and freedom in Venezuela,” and “Maduro is rotten” were some of the messages carried by the attendees, who especially remembered the prisoners in the South American country, with signs showing the faces and names of some of those detained in Venezuelan jails.
Among those present, many were convinced that the opposition leader would be present at the Nobel Prize ceremony on December 10 in Oslo , while others doubted that María Corina would be able to leave Venezuela—where she lives in hiding—to receive the prize, as the Norwegian Nobel committee has assured she would.
Torches illuminated the center of Madrid
The attendees formed a procession that illuminated the center of Madrid with torches during the march, which displayed a large Venezuelan flag .
Costumes of US President Donald Trump, a banana with the face of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, and even animals with the country’s flag accompanied the delegation.
“We want to simulate the torchlight march that takes place in Oslo after the Nobel Prize ceremony,” explained José Antonio Vega , coordinator of Vente Venezuela and the opposition coalition Comando con Venezuela in Spain, who hopes that citizens “will feel involved” in the award given to María Corina.
Vega is part of the delegation of hundreds of Venezuelans who will accompany the opposition leader at the Nobel ceremony, which will also include Latin American presidents, among them the Argentine president, Javier Milei , who announced this Saturday his willingness to support Machado on Wednesday.
“I think we defenders of freedom will be there,” added Vega, who, despite being happy about the recognition, said he felt pain for the prisoners in his country , so he stated that “the real celebration for Venezuelans will be when we can open the cell and we can get all our comrades out.”
