Nobel Peace Prize Winner In Hiding, Didn’t Arrive In Oslo To Receive Prize

NEW YORK (VINnews) — A press conference in Oslo with María Corina Machado, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who is currently in hiding,was cancelled on Tuesday, with the Nobel Institute saying they are “in the dark” about her whereabouts.

Machado is Venezuela’s opposition leader and has been in hiding since the country’s disputed 2024 election, which she and her supporters say was stolen. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for efforts to bring democracy to Venezuela, and was expected to formally collect it in a ceremony on Wednesday. In her absence, family members present in Oslo will receive it on her behalf.

Although Machado regularly gives social media video updates, usually against a neutral white wall, her current whereabouts are unknown. The 58-year-old has not been seen in public for 11 months, having gone into hiding after being briefly detained on 9 January while joining supporters at a protest in Caracas.

Machado was awarded the Peace Prize on 10 October for what the Nobel Committee described as her steadfast struggle for a democratic transition in Venezuela, calling her a woman “who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness.” Her absence from the ceremony underscores the risks she continues to face in her home country.

A prominent opposition figure, Machado won the opposition’s primary election and had planned to challenge President Nicolás Maduro in last year’s presidential election.

However, authorities barred her from contesting, prompting the opposition to put forward retired diplomat Edmundo González as its candidate. Following the disputed 28 July 2024 election, which was widely criticised for repression, arrests and disqualifications,  the National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner.

González later sought asylum in Spain after a Venezuelan court issued a warrant for his arrest, citing alleged subversion. Rights groups say his case reflects a broader pattern of persecution.

Nobel Institute director Kristian Berg Harpviken told public broadcaster NRK that the Venezuelan opposition leader was not in the Norwegian capital on the day of the ceremony and her daughter will accept the prize on Machado’s behalf.

The Nobel Institute had previously said she would attend the event in person, however on Tuesday it said in a statement: “María Corina Machado has herself stated in interviews how challenging the journey to Oslo, Norway will be. We therefore cannot at this point provide any further information about when and how she will arrive for the Nobel peace prize ceremony.”

Venezuela’s government has said that if she left Venezuela, Machado would be considered a “fugitive” by the authorities. The country’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, told AFP last month: “By being outside Venezuela and having numerous criminal investigations, she is considered a fugitive”. He added that she is accused of “acts of conspiracy, incitement of hatred, terrorism”.