Connect with us

World

Venezuelan opposition leader Machado reappears in Norway after months in hiding

Published

on

Venezuelan opposition leader Machado reappears in Norway after months in hiding

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado appeared in public Thursday for the first time in 11 months in Norway as her daughter accepted the Nobel Peace Prize award on her behalf.

Machado had been in hiding since Jan. 9, when she was briefly detained after joining supporters in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas. Her recognition came after mounting a peaceful challenge to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government.

The crowd chanted, “Freedom!” as Machado stepped onto the hotel balcony in Oslo, Norway, and waved to her supporters before joining them in singing Venezuela’s national anthem.

In an audio recording of a phone call published on the Nobel website, Machado said she wouldn’t be able to arrive to Oslo in time for the award ceremony, but that many people had “risked their lives” to get her there.

Advertisement

MARCO RUBIO SAYS NICOLÁS MADURO’S CARTEL DE LOS SOLES TO BE DESIGNATED A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado waves at the Grand Hotel in Oslo, Norway, on Dec. 11, 2025. (Lise Åserud/NTB Scanpix via AP)

“I am very grateful to them, and this is a measure of what this recognition means to the Venezuelan people,” she said.

Her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, accepted the Nobel Prize in her place, saying that her mother “wants to live in a free Venezuela” and “will never give up on that purpose.” 

“That is why we all know, and I know, that she will be back in Venezuela very soon,” Sosa added.

Advertisement

BONDI SHARES HEART-POUNDING FOOTAGE OF US SEIZING VENEZUELAN OIL TANKER IN RARE ACTION LAST SEEN IN 2014

The daughter of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Ana Corina Sosa, accepts the award on behalf of her mother, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, during the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony at Oslo City Hall, Norway, on Dec. 10. (Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB Scanpix, Pool via AP)

Outside the hotel, Machado interacted with and hugged people in the crowd, as they snapped pictures and sprinkled her with chants of “President! President!”

“I want you all back in Venezuela,” Machado said.

Machado’s appearance came after President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced the U.S. seized a Venezuelan oil tanker, a move that could further strain relations with Maduro’s government, which already is subject to extensive U.S. sanctions targeting the country’s oil sector.

Advertisement

DAVID MARCUS: TRUMP’S AGGRESSION TOWARD VENEZUELA A WARNING TO PUTIN

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures at a protest ahead of the Friday inauguration of President Nicolás Maduro for his third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, on Jan. 9, 2025. (REUTERS/Maxwell Briceno)

Since September, U.S. military strikes have targeted alleged narcotraffickers near Venezuela at least 22 times, killing 87 people. Trump has also recently said Maduro’s “days are numbered” and refused to rule out a ground operation in Venezuela. 

Steve Yates, senior research fellow for China and national security policy at The Heritage Foundation, said on “Fox News @ Night” on Wednesday that Machado’s visit overseas was an opportunity to get “greater international support” for her cause, adding that Trump might benefit from having more of America’s allies in Europe support a “non-invasion” approach.

The Venezuelan opposition leader has previously been outspoken in her support for the Trump administration’s actions against Maduro’s regime and the country’s narcotrafficking network.

Advertisement

After the award was announced in October, the newly minted Nobel Peace Prize winner dedicated the award to both Trump and the “suffering people of Venezuela.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

A Venezuelan vessel was destroyed during a U.S. military strike off of Venezuela on Sept. 2, 2025. (@realDonaldTrump via Truth Social)

Machado said during a “Fox & Friends Weekend” interview last month that Venezuela was standing at the “threshold of freedom,” highlighting her new “freedom manifesto” that envisions a future without the Maduro regime.

Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Advertisement

World

Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war

Published

on

Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war
From being just a fringe risk, conflict in the Middle East has become a top worry for investors unsettled by the prospect of a power struggle in Iran and a protracted regional war, with ramifications for everything from global trade to inflation.
Continue Reading

World

Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’

Published

on

Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

The past 48 hours in Tel Aviv have been unlike anything seen before, a leading security analyst has said, as sirens blared amid missile threats following Operation Epic Fury and U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran.

“We are facing a biblical event — nothing less,” Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital, speaking from his shelter in the city.

Like many Israelis, Michael said he had spent hours in reinforced rooms during the ongoing barrage, adding that he was “very experienced in this.”

“But this all requires time and determination, and I do hope that Trump will also have them both,” he said, speaking shortly after the president released a video message stating that the military operation would continue “until all of our objectives are achieved.”

Advertisement

Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system over Tel Aviv. (JACK GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

“Trump is the only one who can make the change — and that change will impact the entire region and the international order for years to come,” Michael added.

As of Sunday, Tel Aviv remained under a state of emergency following Iranian missile attacks that caused casualties and widespread damage.

According to The Associated Press, Iranian missile and drone strikes have killed approximately 11 Israeli civilians and wounded dozens more in retaliation for the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.

Shrapnel from missile impacts damaged at least 40 buildings in Tel Aviv, and authorities reported at least one death in the area from falling debris.

Advertisement

The Philippine Embassy in Israel confirmed the death of a Filipino national after a missile strike hit Tel Aviv on Saturday.

TOMAHAWKS, B-2 STEALTH BOMBERS AND ATTACK DRONES POUND OVER 1,000 IRANIAN TARGETS IN 24-HOUR BLITZ

People take shelter as Iran launched missiles and drones towards Israel following the US-Israeli attacks. ( Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“We enter our shelter once the siren is heard and stay there until the Home Front Command announces that we can leave,” Michael said.

“Usually, it is about 20 to 30 minutes — unless there are further sirens during our stay. Since yesterday morning, it has happened around 30 times.”

Advertisement

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog also visited an impact site in Tel Aviv Sunday, delivering a message of resilience.

“The people of Israel and the people of Iran can live in peace. The region can live in peace. But what undermines peace time and again is terror instigated by this Iranian regime,” Herzog said.

EXILED IRANIAN CROWN PRINCE SAYS US STRIKES MARK ‘BEGINNING OF THE VERY END’ FOR REGIME

Israeli emergency service officer walks past building debris at the scene of a Iranian missile attack. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP via Getty Images)

Following the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and roughly 40 senior Iranian officials, Iran formed a provisional leadership council.

Advertisement

Iran named Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i to lead roles.

“The Supreme Leader did not complete the necessary groundwork regarding his own succession,” Michael added.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“Pezeshkian will face very troubling challenges due to their heavy losses, severe disruptions to control and command systems, and the massive bombing and attacks across Iran, including Tehran,” he said.

“Even if this regime doesn’t collapse, it will never be able to reconstitute itself, recover or return to its previous position,” Michael added.

Advertisement

Related Article

Iranian 'dictator' death celebrated on air by Sky News Australia presenter, telling him to 'rot in hell'
Continue Reading

World

Israel FM says Europe too divided, slams Spanish PM

Published

on

Israel FM says Europe too divided, slams Spanish PM

Israeli minister Gideon Sa’ar said Europe “does not have unified position” on what role it should play in Iran as European ministers sought to establish a joint approach Sunday.

ADVERTISEMENT


ADVERTISEMENT

As Israel and the United States conducted a joint military strike on Iran, leading to the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Europe was kept on the sidelines.

EU member states did not participate in the operation and, in some cases, they were not informed prior as it is customary among strategic allies.

Asked whether Israel sought to keep Europe on the margins, Sa’ar said internal divisions within EU member states had kept them out of critical exchanges of operational details, unlike the United States, which the minister described as his country’s greatest ally.

Advertisement

“In Europe, you have all kinds of approaches,” he told Euronews. “You have countries like the Czech Republic which is strongly supporting this operation and then you have Spain, which is standing with all the tyrants of the world.”

On Saturday, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez was among the most critical voices in Europe, suggesting the US-Israeli strikes on Iran risk plunging the region into total war.

“We reject the unilateral military action of the United States and Israel, which represents an escalation and contributes to a more uncertain and hostile international order,” Sánchez said Saturday. The Spanish PM reiterated that message on Sunday.

“We urge for de-escalation and call to respect international law in all conflicts,” Sánchez added. “You can be against a heinous regime, like the Iranian regime, while also rejecting a military intervention that is unjustified, dangerous and outside of international law.”

Sa’aar said Israel considers the operation “fully justified” citing the right to self-defense from a regime that “has called for the destruction of Israel” and lashed at the Spanish prime minister for sending an “anti-Israeli, anti-American message.”

Advertisement

“Read the statement, they are standing with Iran!” he added.

When asked if any of his European counterparts had manifested an interest in joining the military operation or provide support on the ground, Sa’ar said he held multiple exchanges with European ministers over the weekend and suggested that “if others want to join, they will know have to convey the message.”

On Sunday, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen appeared to back regime change in Iran in line with Israel and the US, saying that the “risk of further escalation is real. This is why a credible transition in Iran is urgently needed” in comments on Sunday.

Sa’ar told Euronews said the strategic strikes and the elimination of Khamenei alongside top regime commanders could “create the conditions to weaken the regime enough to allow the Iranians to take their future into their own hands”.

“The future leadership of Iran should be determined by the Iranian people through free elections. Our only requirement is that whoever comes to power in Iran must not pursue the destruction of Israel,” he said.

Advertisement

Watch the full interview on Euronews from 8pm CET

Continue Reading

Trending