Venezuela’s opposition leader will be considered a “fugitive” if she travels to Norway to collect her Nobel Peace Prize, the nation’s attorney general has said.
Tarik William Saab told news agency AFP that María Corina Machado – who has been living in hiding to avoid arrest – was accused of “acts of conspiracy, incitement of hatred, and terrorism”.
The 58-year-old was named as the prestigious prize’s recipient in October, being praised for her efforts towards a “peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy”.
She has long denounced President Nicolás Maduro’s government as “criminal” and called on Venezuelans to unite to depose it. Many nations view his rule as illegitimate.
Among the leaders to congratulate her at the time was US President Donald Trump, who was also up for the award and whom tensions with Maduro’s government have become increasingly strained.
Attorney General Saab also said Machado was under investigation for her support of the deployment of US military forces in the Caribbean.
The Trump administration has launched an operation targeting boats, mostly in the Caribbean, it accuses of transporting drugs from South America to the US. More than 80 people have been killed in the strikes, most of whom were Venezuelan.
Trump has accused Maduro of being the leader of a drugs cartel, something the Venezuelan leader has denied.
Maduro has, in turn, accused Trump of trying to incite a war to gain control of Venezuela’s oil reserves, but recently said he was willing to hold face-to-face talks with representatives of the Trump administration.
Meanwhile, Machado has been trying to encourage the Venezuelan military to switch sides and turn on Maduro, outlining her vision for a post-Maduro Venezuela in what she called a “freedom manifesto” in a video posted on Tuesday.
“We stand at the edge of a new era – one where our natural rights will prevail,” she told viewers.
