Maria Corina Machado is the lynchpin of opposition to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's regime, a fearless activist with rock star appeal whose inability to attend her own Nobel prize ceremony underlined the dangers she faces.

Hailed as "la libertadora," in an allusion to Venezuela's historic independence hero Simon "The Liberator" Bolivar, Machado was given the Nobel Peace Prize on Wednesday -- but made it to Oslo too late to accept the award.

Her daughter Ana Corina Sosa Machado attended the ceremony in Oslo and read out the acceptance speech from the opposition leader declaring Venezuelans ready to "fight for freedom."

Machado, 58, made her first public appearance in nearly a year early Thursday at a hotel in Oslo -- where she hugged supporters who shouted her name and sang songs

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