The Norwegian Nobel Institute, which awards this important international recognition each year, reported on Saturday that the leader of the Venezuelan opposition, María Corina Machado, had confirmed to them on Friday that she would personally attend the award ceremony which was awarded to her. The event will take place on Wednesday 10 in Oslo, the Norwegian capital. “We spoke to her last night and she told us she would be in Oslo,” said Nobel Institute communications manager Erik Aasheim. The official declined to give further details about the arrival of Machado, who is living in hiding, in Norway.
Today, the whereabouts of María Corina Machado remain a mystery. No one can imagine how Machado could be present in Oslo if he is hiding in Venezuela. As political and diplomatic tensions in the United States continue to escalate with a large military deployment, the Chavista regime has increased street surveillance and control of Venezuela’s borders and airports.
The Argentine presidents, Javier Milei, confirmed their presence at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo; from Ecuador, Daniel Noboa; and Paraguay, Santiago Peña.
Machado received the award on October 10. The Nobel Institute issued a statement recognizing his “tireless efforts to promote rights and freedoms in Venezuela” and favoring “a just and peaceful transition to democracy.”
After the failure of the July 2024 presidential elections, when current President Nicolas Maduro claimed electoral victory without showing the voting results, the Chavista regime denounced the existence of a plot to foment chaos and ignore Venezuelan institutions. A harsh and unprecedented repressive process then began in the country.
Edmundo González Urrutia, the candidate of the democratic forces who declared himself the winner, had to leave the country and go into exile. Machado, the country’s most popular leader, who was unable to participate in this consultation as a candidate and who carried the weight of González Urrutia’s electoral campaign, went underground to continue the political struggle against the Maduro regime.
Machado’s whereabouts are completely unknown, although the vast majority of Venezuelans are certain that he is still in Venezuela. From his hideout, Machado periodically issues statements informing his supporters of his efforts to restore democracy to Venezuela and capture the Maduro regime.
Diosdado Cabello, Minister of the Interior and Justice, number two in the Chavista regime, said a few weeks ago on his television show that Machado was hiding near the United States embassy in Caracas.
In addition, the famous Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero and the artist, singer and composer Danny Ocean were invited to the ceremony in Oslo.