Nobel Peace Prize ceremony held without Machado

Caracas: Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado will miss Wednesday's Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, organizers said.

Her daughter will accept the award on her behalf, but the Nobel Institute said Machado is expected in Oslo.

"Although she will not be able to reach the ceremony and today's events, we are profoundly happy to confirm that she is safe and that she will be with us in Oslo," the Norwegian Nobel Institute said.

Why is Machado not attending the Nobel prize ceremony?
Machado has appeared in public only once since going underground in August last year during a tense standoff with President Nicolas Maduro.

Venezuela's attorney general warned that the 58-year-old would be considered a fugitive if she left the country to pick up the award.

Uncertainty lingered over Machado's plans, until the Nobel Institute said she was due in Oslo but would not attend the ceremony, scheduled for 1 p.m. CET (1200 GMT)

Machado won an opposition primary in 2024 and intended to challenge Maduro, but the government barred her from running for office. Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia became the opposition candidate after Machado was disqualified from running. Machado said Maduro stole the election from Urrutia.

Machado has not appeared in public for 11 months, and was last seen during a protest in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, against Maduro. 

Machado was chosen as this year's winner of the prize for her efforts toward "a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy" in Venezuela.

She went into hiding after elections that granted Maduro a third term — results not recognized by the United States, the European Union or several Latin American governments.

The Nobel Institute had said over the weekend that Machado would receive the award in person — which includes a gold medal, diploma and $1.2 million (€1 million) — and had scheduled a press conference and media interviews, all later cancelled.

Exiled Venezuelans, including Urrutia, and the presidents of Argentina, Panama, Ecuador and Paraguay had already arrived in Oslo for the ceremony.