MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Machado unable to attend Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo

No information was released as to Machado's whereabouts

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado will not be present at the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony at Oslo's City Hall on Wednesday, the event's organizers confirmed.

 Kristian Berg Harpviken, Director of the Nobel Institute, confirmed to Norwegian public broadcaster NRK that Machado was not currently in the country. “Unfortunately, she is not in Norway right now. And she will not be on stage at Oslo City Hall,” Harpviken said.

Nobel Institute Spokesperson Erik Aasheim ratified the news. The Nobel Institute cited profound security challenges as the reason for Machado's absence.

“She simply lives under the threat of death from the regime,” Harpviken explained, noting that threats persisted from Nicolás Maduro's Bolivarian regime and its “friends around the world.”

“Even though we face the most brutal violence, our society has resisted and insisted to struggle through civic and peaceful means.”

Maria Corina Machado, Nobel Peace Prize 2025@MariaCorinaYA

AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File. pic.twitter.com/LlMDvUqYiE

— Nobel Peace Center (@NobelPeaceOslo) October 10, 2025

Machado’s daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, will receive the medal and diploma on her mother’s behalf and is expected to deliver the traditional Nobel lecture.

“It's a shame, it's always better when the Nobel laureate is present,” Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide lamented.

Machado's team has not released any official information as to the reasons for her inability to attend, nor have they disclosed her current location.

Announcements about her potential presence had created a media hype worldwide. However, a press conference on Tuesday was first postponed and then canceled by the organizers. Machado has maintained a low profile since August 2024, shortly after the disputed Venezuelan presidential elections, despite her inability to run and subsequent endorsement of retired diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia.

Despite Machado's absence, Wednesday's ceremony will be attended by Presidents José Raúl Mulino (Panama), Javier Milei (Argentina), Santiago Peña (Paraguay), and Daniel Noboa (Ecuador), with hundreds of Venezuelans expected to gather outside.