{"id":195113,"date":"2025-12-16T18:22:06","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T18:22:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/195113\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T18:22:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T18:22:06","slug":"at-least-three-writers-withdraw-from-hay-festival-in-protest-at-machado-invite-maria-corina-machado","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/195113\/","title":{"rendered":"At least three writers withdraw from Hay festival in protest at Machado invite | Mar\u00eda Corina Machado"},"content":{"rendered":"

At least three writers have withdrawn from next month\u2019s Hay festival<\/a> in Cartagena, Colombia, in protest at an invitation extended to the Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel laureate Mar\u00eda Corina Machado.<\/p>\n

The main reason cited by them is Machado\u2019s support for Donald Trump\u2019s four-month pressure campaign against Venezuela\u2019s dictator Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and her comments in favour of a potential US military intervention in the Caribbean country.<\/p>\n

Their boycott stands as another sign that Machado \u2013 who has close ties with far-right leaders in the region, including Argentina\u2019s Javier Milei and Brazil\u2019s Jair Bolsonaro \u2013 is far from a consensus figure in Latin America.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Machado was among the many rightwing leaders<\/a> worldwide who cheered<\/a> the election of the ultra-conservative Jos\u00e9 Antonio Kast \u2013 an avowed admirer of the dictator Augusto Pinochet \u2013 as Chile\u2019s next president<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a letter announcing her withdrawal from the Hay festival<\/a> Cartagena, the acclaimed Colombian author Laura Restrepo described Machado as \u201can active supporter of US military intervention in Latin America\u201d.<\/p>\n

The author of Delirium<\/a> added: \u201cNo platform should be given or audience facilitated for someone who, like Ms Machado, promotes positions and activities that subject our peoples and undermine the sovereignty of our countries. Imperialist intervention is not something to debate, but something to reject outright.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another Colombian author, Giuseppe Caputo,\u00a0cited<\/a>\u00a0the deadly\u00a0US airstrikes<\/a>\u00a0on boats that have so far killed more than 90 people many of them in the same Caribbean waters that border Cartagena.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that, given the grave moment of escalating imperial violence, it is better to withdraw from a festival held on the shores of the bombarded Caribbean Sea, which has decided to invite someone who dedicated a peace prize to the fascist responsible for these crimes,\u201d wrote Caputo on his social media, recalling that Machado dedicated her Nobel prize to Trump.<\/p>\n

Machado recently told CBS<\/a> that she \u201cabsolutely supports President Trump\u2019s strategy\u201d on Venezuela and that the \u201ccost of staying in power\u201d for Maduro must be increased \u201cby force\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Venezuelan opposition leader suffered a vertebra fracture<\/a> during her film-like escape<\/a> from Venezuela, where she had been in hiding for more than a year, to Oslo, Norway, to receive the prize.<\/p>\n

After a clandestine 5,500-mile journey that involved passing through multiple checkpoints on land, being rescued by a team led by a US special forces veteran after 12 hours in a flimsy boat in the rough Caribbean waters, and a flight on a private jet to Oslo, she ultimately missed the Nobel ceremony but took part in events and press conferences.<\/p>\n

It is unclear when or how she will return to Venezuela. Her remote participation in the Hay festival Cartagena \u2013 in a conversation with the Venezuelan journalist and former minister of trade and industry Mois\u00e9s Na\u00edm \u2013 is still scheduled January 30.<\/p>\n

Machado\u2019s team said she would not comment on the writers\u2019 protest.<\/p>\n

The festival, which was founded in Wales and later expanded to other countries, issued a statement<\/a> saying it respected the authors\u2019 decisions but believed that open and diverse dialogue is essential to defending \u201cthe free exchange of ideas and freedom of expression\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important to clarify that the Hay festival does not align itself with or endorse the opinions, positions or statements of those who take part in its activities, nor their political views,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n

The Dominican writer and activist Mikaelah Drullard, the third to pull out in protest, said<\/a> the festival\u2019s invitation to Machado amounted to a validation of everything she says and \u201can ideological weapon to promote her justifications for US intervention, invasion and militarisation of the Caribbean, and of her delight at the success of the ultra-right Kast in Chile\u2019s election.\u201d<\/p>\n