Peace Prize Officials Uncertain About When Peace Prize Laureate Will Arrive for Award Event
A planned media briefing by Nobel Peace Prize laureate MarĂa Corina Machado, who is currently in hiding, was cancelled on Tuesday. The award committee stated they are without any clear information regarding her whereabouts.
Machado, Venezuela's opposition leader, has been in hiding since the country's disputed 2024 election. She and her supporters maintain the vote was stolen.
She was granted the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to establish democracy to Venezuela and was anticipated to formally collect the award at a ceremony on Wednesday.
Despite regularly posting video updates on social media, typically in front of a plain white wall, her exact location is a mystery.
"MarĂa Corina Machado has personally indicated in interviews how difficult the journey to Oslo, Norway will be," organizers said in a statement. "We therefore cannot at this point offer any further information about when and how she will arrive for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony."
The institute had previously confirmed she would attend the ceremony in person. Earlier on Tuesday, a spokesman had commented that "all indications are" the press conference would go ahead despite a delay.
Official Position and Legal Threats
Venezuela's authorities have declared that if Machado departed from Venezuela, she would be deemed a "person fleeing justice" by the authorities. Her family members are reportedly in Oslo.
Last month, Venezuela's attorney general, Tarek William Saab, told a news agency that "Because she is outside Venezuela and facing numerous criminal investigations, she is considered a fugitive." He stated she is facing charges for "acts of conspiracy, promoting hatred, as well as terrorism."
Potential Return and Visibility
Machado had previously informed her supporters that she intended to return to Venezuela after collecting the prize.
If she makes it to the ceremony, it would mark her first public appearance since January 2025. Her last public appearance was at a demonstration in Caracas on 9 January, opposing the swearing-in of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Political Context
Following Venezuela's 2024 election, the opposition groups released vote counts indicating they had been victorious, despite Maduro declaring himself the winner. Several nations, including the United States, have acknowledged its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, as the president-elect. Ms. Machado was prohibited from participating in that election.
