Nobel Officials Uncertain When Peace Prize Winner Is to Arrive for Award Event

A planned press conference by Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, who is currently keeping a low profile, 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 in hiding since the country's contested 2024 election. She and her supporters maintain the vote was fraudulently taken.

She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work 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 precise location is a mystery.

"María Corina Machado has personally indicated in interviews how difficult the journey to Oslo, Norway will be," the Nobel Institute said in a statement. "We therefore cannot at this point provide any additional information about when and how she will come for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony."

The institute had previously stated she would be present at the ceremony physically. Earlier on Tuesday, a spokesman had remarked that "all indications are" the press conference would go ahead despite a delay.

Official Position and Potential Consequences

Venezuela's authorities have declared that if Machado left Venezuela, she would be considered a "fugitive" by the government. 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 added she is accused of "acts of conspiracy, incitement of hatred, as well as terrorism."

Planned Comeback and Visibility

Machado had earlier informed her followers that she intended to return to Venezuela after receiving the prize.

If she attends the ceremony, it would mark her first public appearance since January 2025. Her last public appearance was at a demonstration in Caracas on 9 January, against the swearing-in of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Election Backdrop

Following Venezuela's 2024 election, the opposition released vote counts suggesting they had been victorious, despite Maduro claiming victory. 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.