A Noble Cause

A Noble Cause

11 December 2025

On 10 December, the daughter of María Corina Machado accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on her mother’s behalf. Machado herself also appears to have arrived, perhaps a bit later. Reports suggest she emerged from hiding in Venezuela and travelled to Norway via Curaçao. It is an impressive story, especially in a period of rising tensions between the United States and Venezuela — Trump versus Maduro. While American fighter jets provoked and distracted Venezuelan troops, Machado was picked up from the water.

Curaçao and the wider Caribbean have long presented themselves as a zone of peace. The Kingdom of the Netherlands has consistently stressed that it does not take sides and does not facilitate the United States, to avoid pulling the island into conflict. The question now is whether this position is still tenable in practice. One must also recall that the elected president of Venezuela, Edmundo González Urrutia, escaped the country via the Dutch embassy and now lives in exile in Spain. He, too, was present at the ceremony in Oslo.

I do not object to the choices that were made, but I do not believe they were optimal. Years ago, in a vision document, I argued that Curaçao should be a neutral zone of peace—a place that provides space for peace negotiations. As was the case in the past with the talks between the Colombian government and the FARC. And now, potentially, between Venezuela and the opposition. But also, in the future, for example, between Russia and Ukraine. It is a noble cause, one that fits our geographic position and our history.

Yet I fear that, due to a lack of vision, we are allowing this unique role to slip away. Of course, the Kingdom ultimately sets the course, but with a strong and self-confident position, we could have claimed and developed this role. An island that does not position itself will be placed by others.

Miguel Goede