Nobel officials unsure when peace prize winner will arrive at ceremony

A press conference for Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Colina Machado, who is currently in hiding, has been canceled and the Nobel Institute said they have “no clue” about her whereabouts.

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

She has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to bring democracy to Venezuela and is expected to formally receive the award at a ceremony on Wednesday.

Although Machado frequently posts video updates on social media, often against a neutral white wall, her current whereabouts are unknown.

“Maria Corina Machado herself stated in interviews that the journey to Oslo, Norway, would be challenging. Therefore, we are currently unable to provide any further information on when and how she will arrive at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony,” the Nobel Institute said in a statement.

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

The Venezuelan government has said that if Machado leaves Venezuela, she will be considered a “fugitive” by the authorities. Her family is already in Oslo.

“She is considered a fugitive because she is outside Venezuela and is subject to numerous criminal investigations,” Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab told AFP last month. He said she was accused of “conspiracy, incitement to hatred, acts of terrorism.”

Machado earlier told her followers that she would return to Venezuela after winning the award.

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

After Venezuela’s 2024 election, although Maduro claimed victory, the opposition’s vote count released after the election showed that he won, and some countries, including the United States, recognized its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as the elected president. Ms. Machado was banned from running in the election.