Oslo –
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado appeared in Oslo early on Thursday, climbing barriers outside her hotel to hug well-wishers after the Venezuelan opposition figure failed to reach the Norwegian capital in time to receive her award at a ceremony held hours earlier.
The 58-year-old engineer had secretly left Venezuela for Oslo in defiance of a decadelong travel ban imposed by authorities in her home country and after spending more than a year in hiding.
Machado greeted dozens of people from the balcony of Oslo’s Grand Hotel, where Nobel laureates traditionally stay, waving and singing the national anthem along with the crowd, which waved Venezuelan flags and filmed her with their mobile phones.