Venezuelan dissident María Corina Machado skips Nobel ceremony amid security fears

Venezuelan opposition leader and 2024 Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado will not attend Wednesday’s award ceremony in Oslo, the Norwegian Nobel Institute said. Institute director Kristian Berg Harpviken told public broadcaster NRK that Machado was not in Oslo and that her daughter would receive the prize on her behalf.

The Institute did not immediately respond to queries from The Associated Press regarding the circumstances behind her absence. A press conference Machado was expected to attend on Tuesday was also abruptly cancelled, further fuelling uncertainty. The 58-year-old has not been seen in public for 11 months, having gone into hiding after being briefly detained on 9 January while joining supporters at a protest in Caracas.

Machado was awarded the Peace Prize on 10 October for what the Nobel Committee described as her steadfast struggle for a democratic transition in Venezuela, calling her a woman “who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness.”

Her absence from the ceremony underscores the risks she continues to face in her home country.

A prominent opposition figure, Machado won the opposition’s primary election and had planned to challenge President Nicolás Maduro in last year’s presidential election.

However, authorities barred her from contesting, prompting the opposition to put forward retired diplomat Edmundo González as its candidate. Following the disputed 28 July 2024 election — widely criticised for repression, arrests and disqualifications — the National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner.

González later sought asylum in Spain after a Venezuelan court issued a warrant for his arrest, citing alleged subversion. Rights groups say his case reflects a broader pattern of persecution.

UN human rights officials and independent civil society organisations have repeatedly raised concerns about the continued crackdown on dissent, urging international accountability for abuses.

Machado’s prolonged disappearance and the security threats surrounding her highlight the deteriorating political environment in Venezuela, where the space for opposition activity has shrunk dramatically.

Her Nobel Peace Prize, accepted in absentia, serves as both an international recognition of her efforts and a stark reminder of the risks facing democracy advocates in the country.