Machado won’t attend Nobel ceremony
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado will not receive the Nobel Peace Prize in person at Wednesday’s ceremony in Oslo, the Norwegian Nobel Institute confirmed, saying her current location is unknown.
Machado, 58, was announced as the 2025 laureate in October. She had been expected to attend the ceremony at Oslo City Hall, where King Harald, Queen Sonja, and several Latin American leaders — including Argentina’s President Javier Milei and Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa — were scheduled to be present, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
The ceremony begins at 1 p.m. (1200 GMT).
Machado was set to receive the award despite a decade-long travel ban issued by Venezuelan authorities and after more than a year spent in hiding. Her selection was widely interpreted as international recognition of her push for democratic change in Venezuela.
However, those expectations shifted on Wednesday when Nobel Institute director Kristian Berg Harpviken told public broadcaster NRK that Machado “is unfortunately not in Norway and will not stand on stage at Oslo City Hall.”
Asked about her whereabouts, he replied: “I don’t know.”
The Nobel Institute has not provided further comment.
Machado previously dedicated the honor in part to U.S. President Donald Trump, praising what she called Washington’s support for democracy in Venezuela.
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