Peace Prize Organizers Uncertain When Peace Prize Laureate Will Arrive for Award Event

A planned press conference by Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, who is currently 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 disputed 2024 election. She and her allies assert the vote was fraudulently taken.

She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to bring democracy to Venezuela and was expected to formally collect the award at a formal event on Wednesday.

Despite regularly posting video updates on social media, typically in front of a neutral white wall, her precise location remains a mystery.

"María Corina Machado has herself stated in interviews how difficult the journey to Oslo, Norway is likely to be," organizers said in a statement. "We therefore cannot at this point provide any further information about the timing or manner in which she will arrive for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony."

The institute had earlier confirmed 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.

Official Position and Legal Threats

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

Last month, Venezuela's attorney general, Tarek William Saab, informed a news agency that "Because she is outside Venezuela and having numerous criminal cases, she is considered a fugitive." He added she is accused of "alleged conspiracy, promoting hatred, as well as terrorism."

Planned Comeback and Visibility

Machado had previously informed her followers that she planned to go back to Venezuela after receiving the prize.

If she attends the ceremony, it would mark her first public appearance since January 2025. Her last public appearance 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 groups released vote counts suggesting they had been victorious, 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 participating in that election.