Oslo: Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado will not attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo on Wednesday, with the Norwegian Nobel Institute confirming that her daughter would accept the award on her behalf.
Institute director Kristian Berg Harpviken said that Machado was not in the Norwegian capital on the day of the ceremony, ending speculation surrounding her possible appearance.
A press conference scheduled for Tuesday, where Machado was expected to speak, was cancelled without explanation. Her absence has drawn further attention to her prolonged disappearance from public life. Machado has not been seen in public since Jan. 9, when she was briefly detained after joining supporters in a protest in Caracas.
Machado, 58, received this year’s Peace Prize for her efforts to push for a democratic transition in Venezuela. The Nobel Committee praised her as a leader who keeps the flame of democracy alive amid rising repression. Her award was announced on Oct. 10.
She won the opposition primary and planned to challenge President Nicolás Maduro in last year’s presidential election, but authorities barred her from running. Her place was eventually taken by retired diplomat Edmundo González.
The period leading up to the July 28, 2024, election was marked by widespread intimidation, including political disqualifications, arrests, and documented human rights abuses. After Maduro was declared the winner by an electoral council dominated by loyalists, González fled to Spain, seeking asylum following the issuance of an arrest warrant.
UN human rights officials and several international advocacy groups have repeatedly raised concerns about Venezuela’s deteriorating political climate. They have urged accountability for the Maduro government’s crackdown on dissent, which intensified after the disputed election.
