Nobel Officials Unsure When Peace Prize Laureate Is to Arrive for Ceremony

A scheduled press conference by Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado, who is presently in hiding, was called off on Tuesday. The award committee stated they are without any clear information regarding her current location.

Machado, Venezuela's opposition leader, has been out of public view since the country's contested 2024 election. She and her supporters maintain the vote was fraudulently taken.

She was granted the Nobel Peace Prize for her work to establish democracy to Venezuela and was anticipated to formally collect the award at a ceremony on Wednesday.

Despite regularly posting recorded messages on social media, typically against a neutral white wall, her exact location remains unknown.

"María Corina Machado has herself stated 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 provide any additional information about when and how she will come for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony."

The institute had previously confirmed 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.

Government Stance and Legal Threats

Venezuela's authorities have declared that if Machado departed from 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, told a news agency that "By being outside Venezuela and having numerous criminal investigations, she is considered a fugitive." He added she is facing charges for "alleged conspiracy, promoting hatred, and terrorism."

Planned Comeback and Public Appearance

Machado had previously told her supporters that she intended 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 inauguration of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Political Context

Following Venezuela's 2024 election, the opposition groups released vote counts indicating they had won, despite Maduro declaring himself the winner. 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.