Nobel Organizers Unsure When Peace Prize Winner Is to Arrive for Award Event

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

Machado, Venezuela's opposition leader, has been out of public view since the country's disputed 2024 election. She and her allies assert the vote was stolen.

She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to establish democracy to Venezuela and was anticipated to receive in person the award at a ceremony on Wednesday.

Despite regularly posting recorded messages on social media, typically in front of a plain white wall, her exact location remains a mystery.

"María Corina Machado has personally indicated in interviews how difficult the journey to Oslo, Norway is likely to be," the Nobel Institute said in a statement. "We therefore are unable to at this point offer any further information about the timing or manner in which she will arrive for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony."

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

Official Position and Potential Consequences

Venezuela's authorities have declared that if Machado departed from Venezuela, she would be considered a "fugitive" by the authorities. Her relatives are already in Oslo.

Last month, Venezuela's top prosecutor, Tarek William Saab, told a news agency that "By being outside Venezuela and having numerous criminal investigations, she is regarded as a fugitive." He added she is accused of "alleged conspiracy, promoting hatred, and terrorism."

Planned Comeback and Visibility

Machado had earlier 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 initial return to the public eye 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.

Election Backdrop

Following Venezuela's 2024 election, the opposition published vote counts indicating they had won, despite Maduro claiming victory. Several nations, such as the United States, have acknowledged its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, as the duly elected president. Ms. Machado was banned from running in that election.