Nobel Organizers Unsure When Peace Prize Winner Is to Arrive for Ceremony

A planned media briefing by Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, who is presently in hiding, was cancelled on Tuesday. The award committee stated they are completely in the dark regarding her current location.

Machado, the leader of Venezuela's opposition, has been in hiding since the country's contested 2024 election. She and her supporters maintain the vote was stolen.

She was granted the Nobel Peace Prize for her work to establish democracy to Venezuela and was expected to formally collect the award at a ceremony on Wednesday.

Despite regularly posting video updates on social media, typically against a neutral white wall, her precise location is unknown.

"María 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 come for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony."

The institute had previously confirmed she would attend the ceremony physically. Earlier on Tuesday, a spokesman had remarked that "everything suggests" the press conference would go ahead despite a delay.

Official Position and Potential Consequences

Venezuela's government have declared that if Machado departed from Venezuela, she would be deemed a "fugitive" by the authorities. Her family members are reportedly in Oslo.

Last month, Venezuela's attorney general, Tarek William Saab, told a news agency that "By being outside Venezuela and facing numerous criminal cases, she is regarded as a fugitive." He stated she is facing charges for "alleged conspiracy, promoting hatred, and terrorism."

Potential Return and Visibility

Machado had previously told her followers that she planned to go back to Venezuela after receiving 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 protest in Caracas on 9 January, against the swearing-in of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Political Context

Following Venezuela's 2024 election, the opposition groups released tallies 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 duly elected president. Ms. Machado was banned from participating in that election.