"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."
"Finally, she connected by phone this morning with Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Nobel Institute. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) 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."
Maria Corina Machado did not attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony because she had been hiding inside Venezuela to avoid arrest by the authoritarian regime. She escaped Venezuela via a clandestine boat trip to Curaçao and then flew to Oslo, but bad weather delayed her journey and prevented timely arrival. Machado connected by phone with the Nobel Institute chair and confirmed she was safe. Her daughter accepted the Nobel Prize in Oslo and vowed that Machado "will never give up" on achieving a free Venezuela. Machado said she was in "extreme danger" and that many people risked their lives to help her escape.
Read at www.npr.org
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