Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado displays vote tally sheets during a protest against the reelection of President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, August 28, 2024. ARIANA CUBILLOS / AP
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on October 10 for her efforts to bring democracy to Venezuela, challenging the iron-fisted rule of Nicolas Maduro, who has been president since 2013.
Nobel officials canceled a press conference with Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado in Oslo Tuesday, December 9, as it was unclear where the Venezuelan opposition leader was and whether she would collect her award in person. Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on October 10 for her efforts to bring democracy to Venezuela, challenging the iron-fisted rule of Nicolas Maduro, who has been president since 2013.
Originally scheduled for 1 pm, the press conference with the 58-year-old, who went into hiding in her country in August 2024, was first postponed before finally being canceled. “Maria Corina Machado herself said how difficult it was to come to Norway. We hope she will attend the Nobel Prize award ceremony” on Wednesday, institute spokesman Erik Aasheim told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Following speculation about her whereabouts over the last few days, reporters were anticipating her first public appearance in 11 months. Machado last appeared in public at a demonstration in Caracas on January 9, protesting against Maduro’s inauguration for his third term. Machado has accused Maduro of stealing the July 2024 election she was banned from standing in, a claim backed by much of the international community.
‘Fugitive’
Venezuela’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, said last month the opposition leader would be considered a “fugitive” if she traveled to Norway to accept the prize. “By being outside Venezuela and having numerous criminal investigations, she is considered a fugitive,” Saab told AFP, adding that she is accused of “acts of conspiracy, incitement of hatred, terrorism.”
Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said Monday that he did not know if she would travel to Oslo. A trip to Oslo would raise thorny questions over her possible return to Venezuela or her ability to lead the Venezuelan opposition from exile.
The Nobel prize ceremony will take place on Wednesday at 1 pm at Oslo’s City Hall. Several members of Machado’s family, including her mother, her three sisters and three children, were already in Oslo for the event. But none of them have disclosed Machado’s location, with some claiming to be unaware of where she is.
Several Latin American leaders, including Argentina’s President Javier Milei – like Machado, an ally of US President Donald Trump – were also expected to attend the ceremony.
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Seen in Oslo on Monday was Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino, who said he came to “congratulate the hero of democracy and the struggling Venezuelan people” and voiced hope for a “return to democracy in Venezuela as soon as possible.” A large police presence has meanwhile stood guard since Monday outside the Grand Hotel in central Oslo, which traditionally hosts the Nobel Peace Prize laureates.
While Machado has been hailed by many for her efforts to bring democracy to Venezuela, she has also been criticized by others for aligning herself with Trump, to whom she dedicated her Nobel Prize.
The Oslo ceremony coincides with a large US military build-up in the Caribbean in recent weeks and deadly strikes on what Washington says are drug smuggling boats. Maduro insists that the real goal of the US operations – which Machado has said are justified – is to topple the government and seize Venezuela’s oil reserves.
Le Monde