‘Fear of losing our freedom and our life’, said the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
in an exclusive interview in 2024; see quotes

María Corina Machado gave an interview to Estúdio i two months after the election that
reelected Nicolás Maduro for the third time; the election result was not
internationally recognized.

Find out who María Corina Machado is, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2025

The opposition leader in Venezuela, María Corina Machado, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2025 on Friday morning (10).
The announcement made by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo, recognized what she said
were “her persistent efforts in favor of the peaceful restoration of democracy and
human rights in Venezuela”.

Since she was prevented from running, she has been living in hiding in Venezuela, while
internationally denouncing the political violations of the Maduro government.

In September 2024, she gave an interview to host Andreia Sadi on
the Estúdio i program, where she talked about the current political situation in the country. See
the main excerpts:

María Corina Machado at a demonstration in Caracas in 2024 — Photo:
Reproduction/Globo TV

“WE ALL ARE AFRAID, NOT ONLY OF LOSING OUR FREEDOM, BUT ALSO OUR LIFE”

When speaking of the political persecution suffered by Maduro’s political opponents and
the population against his regime, Corina reaffirmed the feeling of fear
experienced by everyone and what she considered to be her commitment to the population.

> “We are all afraid, not only of losing our freedom, but also our life. But I
> I have made a commitment to the people of Venezuela and I will not abandon them”.

The opposition leader Over 2,500 persecuted prisoners, children accused of terrorism, women detained, separated from their families,
without the right to a defense and subjected to cruel acts, including sexual violence. The repression in Venezuela is so brutal that the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights qualified it as a practice of State terrorism.

“PERSECUTION IN VENEZUELA IS BRUTAL”

During the interview, Sadi asked Corina about the persecution she and
Edmundo González were facing and whether they planned, at the time, to seek asylum in Brazil.

Corina did not go into detail about the request – nowadays González Urrutia is
asylum in Spain – but she talked about the persecution both dealt with, including
their families.

> “What I can say is that the level of persecution in Venezuela is brutal, and
> they [government military] threatened to invade his [Edmundo González
> Urrutia]. Our families are here in Venezuela, so yes,
> we need the international community, especially the Lula government, to raise
> their voices to end the repression”.

“MADURO FEELS HE CAN KILL CITIZENS WITHOUT PAYING FOR IT”

In another part of the interview, Corina gave more details on how the Maduro government
deals with its opponents.

> “Maduro feels he can have 500 Venezuelans unjustly arrested, that he can
> have 10 citizens killed without paying for it. He must be made aware that he will be held accountable for the crimes he commits so that the repression stops and the military, paramilitaries, cease once and for all, because there will be
> consequences and the world is watching the Venezuelans and their denunciations”.