Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino traveled to Oslo, Norway, on Sunday as a special guest of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who will be awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize next Wednesday, December 10. This was reported by the Panamanian Presidency. Mulino emphasized that his support for Machado's movement led to the severing of diplomatic relations between Panama and Venezuela on July 29, 2024, after the current regime refused to conduct a full review of the tally sheets from the last Venezuelan elections amid strong allegations of fraud. "Mulino not only announced his support for the Venezuelan opposition movement, but also allowed the original tally sheets from that election to be received in Panama for safekeeping as international evidence," the Presidency stated. The Presidency noted that since Mulino assumed the presidency of Panama, he has expressed his international support for Machado's movement to rescue democracy in Venezuela. "As a Panamanian, as president, and as a democrat, it is a great opportunity to be there, to support this woman who is a symbol of the tenacious struggle against a dictatorship that has oppressed, humiliated, and impoverished the people of Venezuela," Mulino said. He added that it will be a great honor to share this important event with other leaders invited to it. Machado was selected by the organization for her "tireless work in promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy." Mulino is traveling accompanied by the first lady, Maricel Cohen de Mulino, and is one of the four Latin American heads of state invited by Machado to attend the ceremony, along with Daniel Noboa (Ecuador), Santiago Peña (Paraguay), and Javier Milei (Argentina).
