MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Machado traveling to Oslo for Nobel Prize ceremony

Machado is living in hiding in her country

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has confirmed she will be traveling to Oslo to receive her Nobel Peace Prize on Dec. 10, according to newswires circulating during the weekend, which gave no further details about the arrangements, citing security concerns.

Machado has been living in hiding in Venezuela to avoid further reprisals from the Nicolás Maduro regime. In November, Venezuela’s attorney general had suggested Machado would be considered a “fugitive” if she departed the country to accept the honor.

“I was in contact with Ms. Machado tonight, and she confirmed that she will be in Oslo for the ceremony,” Nobel Institute Director Kristian Berg Harpviken was quoted as saying.

Joining Machado at the event are scheduled Presidents José Raúl Mulino of Panama, Ecuador's Daniel Noboa, Paraguay's Santiago Peña, and Argentina's Javier Milei.

Mulino said he would be there “to support this woman who symbolizes the tenacious struggle against a dictatorship.”

For Noboa, “it will be an honor to be with you in Norway. Your struggle represents the courage of an entire region,” he posted on social media in a message to Machado.

Also expected to attend the occasion is Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia, who has been living in exile in Spain. Urrutia ran against Maduro in the July 2024 elections.

“Argentina is on the right side of history... In favor of peace and freedom,” insisted Milei, who, alongside the other leaders, shares common values with US President Donald Trump. Their presence has been heralded as exerting further diplomatic pressure on Maduro.

Machado was granted the Nobel Prize in October for her “tireless work in promoting democratic rights and her struggle for a peaceful transition” in Venezuela.

Her selection followed her being barred from running in the 2024 presidential election, which the incumbent Maduro claimed to have won, despite widespread protests from the opposition and non-recognition of the results by the United States and other international bodies. Following the Nobel announcement, Venezuela closed its embassy in Norway.

Venezuelan Interior and Justice Minister Diosdado Cabello said the invited presidents were “lazy vagabonds.”