Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado resurfaced in Oslo on Thursday after nearly a year in hiding, greeting supporters hours after being named the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Machado’s sudden appearance in Norway raised immediate questions about how she managed to leave Venezuela, where authorities had warned she would be considered a fugitive if she travelled abroad. Speaking to the BBC, she insisted she would return home despite the risks. “Of course I’m going back. I know exactly the risks I’m taking,” she said, adding that her presence in Oslo was now “most useful for our cause.”
The Nobel Institute said Machado undertook a journey of “extreme danger” in an effort to attend the ceremony, but she arrived too late to collect the prize in person. Her daughter accepted the award on her behalf, delivering a sharp condemnation of what she called “state terrorism” under President Nicolás Maduro.
Machado later appeared on a balcony of Oslo’s Grand Hotel, waving and blowing kisses to supporters chanting “libertad” in scenes captured by AFP journalists. It was her first public appearance since January. She then climbed over barriers to embrace supporters, many of whom handed her rosaries. She told the BBC she had spent more than 16 months unable to touch or hug anyone while in hiding, missing key family milestones including graduations and weddings.
The Nobel Committee honoured Machado for “her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.” In a speech read by her daughter, she urged Venezuelans to continue resisting Maduro’s rule. “To have democracy, we must be willing to fight for freedom,” she said.
Machado has accused Maduro of stealing the July 2024 presidential election, from which she was barred. The opposition maintains its candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia—now living in exile—won the vote. Machado last appeared publicly on January 9 in Caracas, protesting Maduro’s inauguration for a third term.
Her decision to leave Venezuela carries significant political and personal risk. Benedicte Bull, a Latin America specialist at the University of Oslo, said Machado could face arrest upon her return. “Arresting her would have a very strong symbolic value,” she noted, though authorities have so far shown restraint. Bull added that prolonged exile could weaken Machado’s influence at home, despite her status as the opposition’s dominant figure.
Machado’s mother and three daughters attended the Oslo ceremony, along with several Latin American leaders, including Argentina’s President Javier Milei. In her acceptance remarks, Machado denounced kidnappings and torture under Maduro, calling them “crimes against humanity.”
She has drawn both praise and criticism internationally—admired for her pro‑democracy activism but questioned for her close alignment with U.S. President Donald Trump, to whom she dedicated her Nobel Prize.
The ceremony took place amid heightened U.S. military activity in the Caribbean and recent deadly strikes on vessels Washington describes as drug‑smuggling boats. Maduro claims the operations are part of a U.S. plot to topple his government and seize Venezuela’s oil reserves, an accusation Machado has dismissed.
Machado is scheduled to address the press at 0915 GMT on Thursday.
