Peace Prize Organizers Uncertain When Peace Prize Laureate Is to Arrive for Award Event

A planned 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 contested 2024 election. She and her supporters assert the vote was stolen.

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

Despite regularly posting video updates on social media, typically against 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," organizers said in a statement. "We therefore cannot at this point offer any further information about the timing or manner in which she will come for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony."

The institute had previously stated she would attend the ceremony in person. Earlier on Tuesday, a spokesman had remarked that "everything suggests" the press conference would go ahead despite a delay.

Government Stance and Potential Consequences

Venezuela's authorities have stated that if Machado left Venezuela, she would be deemed a "fugitive" by the government. Her family members are reportedly in Oslo.

Last month, Venezuela's attorney general, Tarek William Saab, told a news agency that "Because she is outside Venezuela and facing numerous criminal cases, she is regarded as a fugitive." He added she is facing charges for "acts of conspiracy, promoting hatred, and terrorism."

Potential Return and Visibility

Machado had earlier told her supporters that she intended to return to Venezuela after receiving the prize.

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

Election Backdrop

Following Venezuela's 2024 election, the opposition released vote counts suggesting 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 prohibited from running in that election.