Nobel Organizers Unsure When Nobel Laureate Is to Arrive for Award Event
A scheduled press conference by Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, who is presently 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 out of public view since the country's disputed 2024 election. She and her allies assert the vote was fraudulently taken.
She was granted the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to establish democracy to Venezuela and was expected to formally collect the award at a formal event on Wednesday.
Despite regularly posting video updates on social media, typically in front of a plain white wall, her exact location is unknown.
"María Corina Machado has personally indicated in interviews how challenging the journey to Oslo, Norway will be," the Nobel Institute said in a statement. "We therefore cannot at this point offer any additional information about when and how she will arrive for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony."
The institute had previously stated 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 stated that if Machado departed from Venezuela, she would be considered a "fugitive" by the authorities. Her family members are already in Oslo.
Last month, Venezuela's attorney general, Tarek William Saab, informed a news agency that "By being outside Venezuela and having numerous criminal cases, she is considered a fugitive." He stated she is facing charges for "acts of conspiracy, incitement of hatred, as well as terrorism."
Potential Return and Public Appearance
Machado had previously told her followers that she intended to go back to Venezuela after collecting the prize.
If she attends the ceremony, it would mark her initial return to the public eye since January 2025. Her last public appearance was at a demonstration in Caracas on 9 January, against the inauguration of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Election Backdrop
Following Venezuela's 2024 election, the opposition published 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.
