Nobel officials unsure when Peace Prize winner will arrive for ceremony

A press conference by María Corina Machado – the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who is currently in-hiding – was cancelled on Tuesday, with the Nobel Institute saying they are “in the dark” about her whereabouts.

Machado is Venezuela’s opposition leader and has been in hiding since the country’s disputed 2024 election, which she and her supporters say was stolen.

She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for efforts to bring democracy to Venezuela, and was expected to formally collect it in a ceremony on Wednesday.

Although Machado regularly gives social media video updates, usually against a neutral white wall, her current whereabouts are unknown.

The Nobel Institute said in a statement: “María Corina Machado has herself stated in interviews how challenging the journey to Oslo, Norway will be. We therefore cannot at this point provide any further information about when and how she will arrive for the Nobel peace prize ceremony.”

The institute had previously said she would attend the ceremony in person. Earlier on Tuesday, a spokesman said “everything suggests” the press conference would be able to take place on Tuesday despite the delay.

Venezuela’s government has said that if Machado left Venezuela she would be considered a “fugitive” by the authorities. Her family are already in Oslo.

Venezuela’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, told AFP last month: “By being outside Venezuela and having numerous criminal investigations, she is considered a fugitive”. He said she is accused of “acts of conspiracy, incitement of hatred, terrorism”.

Machado had earlier told her followers that she would return to Venezuela after collecting the prize.

If she attends, it would be her first public appearance since January 2025. She last appeared in public at a protest in Caracas on 9 January against the inauguration of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

After Venezuela’s 2024 election, the opposition published tallies after the election suggesting it won, despite Maduro claiming victory, and some nations including the US have recognised its candidate – Edmundo Gonzalez – as the president-elect. Ms Machado was banned from running in the election.