The Norwegian Nobel Institute canceled the press conference scheduled for this Tuesday with Venezuelan María Corina Machado, winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, before Wednesday’s award ceremony in Oslo.
Machado, 58, was subject to a travel ban imposed by President Nicolás Maduro’s government for a decade and remained in hiding for more than a year. The institute claimed to be unaware of Machado’s current whereabouts.
“I know he wants to come and he’s on his way, but that’s all I know,” said Kristian Berg Harpviken, director of the institute and permanent secretary of the award committee.
“It is not yet known whether he will arrive in Oslo in time for the ceremony,” he added.
“We will ensure that it is a dignified ceremony that recognizes this year’s laureate, highlighting the situation in Venezuela and the importance of democracy for peace,” he told public broadcaster NRK.
The awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. (12:00 GMT) at Oslo City Hall, in the presence of King Harald, Queen Sonja and at least four Latin American heads of state, including the Argentine Javier Milei and the Ecuadorian Daniel Noboa.
A press conference in Oslo had originally been scheduled for 12:00 GMT on Tuesday, but was initially pushed back to an unspecified time. The institute later reported that the event had been cancelled.
The winner “has stated in interviews how difficult the trip to Oslo, Norway will be,” the Nobel Institute reported in its statement.
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Machado aligned with Trump
The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the prize to Machado for his fight against what it called a dictatorship.
He aligned himself with hawks close to US President Donald Trump, who argue that Maduro has ties to criminal gangs that pose a direct threat to US national security, despite doubts raised by the US intelligence community.
When he won the award in October, Machado dedicated it in part to Trump, who declared himself worthy of the honor.
An industrial engineer, Machado was disqualified from running in the 2024 presidential elections despite having won the opposition primaries by a large majority. He went into hiding in August 2024 after authorities expanded detentions of opposition figures following the controversial vote.
The electoral authority and the highest court declared Maduro the winner, but international observers and the opposition say their candidate won easily, and the opposition published vote counts as proof of his victory.
With information from Reuters
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