Machado to Miss Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony as Daughter Accepts Award in Oslo

Venezuelan opposition figure Maria Corina Machado, who has been living in hiding, will not attend Wednesday’s Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, organisers confirmed. Her daughter will accept the award on her behalf.

Machado has made only one public appearance since going underground in August last year during heightened tensions with President Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela’s attorney general has warned that the 58-year-old would be deemed a “fugitive” if she attempted to leave the country to collect the prize.

Until shortly before the ceremony, it was unclear whether Machado had travelled to Norway for the 1:00 pm (1200 GMT) event. The Nobel Institute later announced her absence.

“It will be her daughter Ana Corina Machado who will receive the prize in her mother’s name,” Nobel Institute director Kristian Berg Harpviken told NRK radio. “Her daughter will give the speech that Maria Corina herself wrote.”

Harpviken added that he did not know where Machado was, noting that very few people are aware of her whereabouts due to Maduro’s “repressive regime which is willing to use absolutely all means against the opposition.” He emphasized that Machado “lives under a death threat from the regime.”

Machado’s mother, her three daughters, and several Latin American leaders—including Argentine President Javier Milei—are in Oslo for the ceremony at City Hall.

‘Fugitive’ Nobel Laureate

Although organisers previously said Machado planned to attend, signs of trouble emerged when Tuesday’s traditional laureate press conference was first postponed and later cancelled.

Machado continues to accuse President Maduro of stealing Venezuela’s July 2024 election, from which she was barred. Her claims are supported by much of the international community.

Widely praised for her pro-democracy efforts, Machado has also drawn criticism for her alliance with former U.S. President Donald Trump, to whom she has dedicated the Nobel Prize.

The Oslo ceremony coincides with a major U.S. military build-up in the Caribbean and reported deadly strikes on what Washington describes as drug-trafficking vessels. Maduro insists the U.S. actions—supported by Machado—are intended to overthrow his government and seize Venezuela’s oil reserves.

Since going into hiding, Machado has appeared publicly only once—on January 9 in Caracas—where she protested against Maduro’s third-term inauguration. The opposition maintains its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, won the election. He now lives in exile and was also present in Oslo on Wednesday.

Machado received the Nobel Peace Prize on October 10 for her efforts to restore democracy in Venezuela and challenge Maduro’s rule, in place since 2013.

Venezuela’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, reiterated last month that she would be considered a “fugitive” if she travelled to Norway. He cited ongoing investigations into alleged “acts of conspiracy, incitement of hatred, [and] terrorism.”

Harpviken noted this week that it is not unprecedented for a peace prize laureate to be prevented from attending: “On those occasions, close family members of the laureate will receive the prize and give the lecture in the place of the laureate.”

Questions remain over Machado’s ability to return to Venezuela.
“She risks being arrested if she returns even if the authorities have shown more restraint with her than with many others, because arresting her would have a very strong symbolic value,” said Benedicte Bull, a Latin America specialist at the University of Oslo.

Bull added that while Machado is “the undisputed leader of the opposition,” staying abroad for too long could gradually weaken her political influence.

Both pro- and anti-Machado demonstrations are expected in Oslo on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Nobel laureates in medicine, physics, chemistry, literature, and economics will receive their awards at a separate ceremony in Stockholm.

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