María Corina Machado News Conference Canceled Ahead of Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony
OSLO, Norway — A planned news conference by Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado was called off after a several-hour delay, just one day before the Nobel ceremony in Oslo.
Machado, who has not appeared publicly for 11 months, was slated to host the traditional pre-ceremony briefing the day before the award ceremony. However, the lunchtime event was postponed without an explanation, and three hours past the scheduled start time the Norwegian Nobel Institute announced that it would not take place.
The institute noted in an email that Machado herself has acknowledged the difficulties of traveling to Oslo, and at this time they could not provide any further details about her arrival or participation in the ceremony.
No information was given about whether the news conference would be rescheduled.
Machado’s spokesperson did not respond to inquiries about her current whereabouts or whether she would attend Wednesday’s ceremony.
Machado, 58, was named a Nobel Peace Prize recipient for her work advocating for a democratic transition in Venezuela. The Nobel Committee described her as a leader who “keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness.” The award announcement came on October 10.
Background: Machado had won the opposition’s primary and aimed to challenge President Nicolás Maduro in last year’s election, but a ban prevented her candidacy. Retired diplomat Edmundo González stood in for her. The pre-election period in Venezuela was marked by widespread repression, including disqualifications, arrests, and human rights concerns, with Maduro’s government maintaining the election winner despite credible contrary evidence. González later sought asylum in Spain after an arrest warrant was issued for him. Machado, meanwhile, went into hiding and has not been seen in public since January 9, when she was briefly detained after joining a protest in Caracas; Maduro began a new six-year term the following day.
