Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who has spent more than a year in hiding, will not attend Wednesday’s Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo. Her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa Machado, will receive the award and deliver her mother’s remarks, Nobel organizers confirmed shortly before the event.
Machado’s absence ends weeks of speculation over whether she would risk leaving Venezuela. The country’s attorney general warned that the 58-year-old would be treated as a “fugitive” if she attempted to travel abroad. Her location remains unknown.
Why Isn’t Maria Corina Machado Attending?
Machado has been underground since August 2023 as tensions escalated with President Nicolás Maduro’s government. Authorities have accused her of conspiracy, incitement, and terrorism. Maduro’s attorney general insists she would face arrest the moment she left the country.
Uncertainty intensified on the morning of the ceremony when the traditional pre-event press conference with the laureate was first postponed, then cancelled. Nobel Institute spokesperson Erik Aasheim later confirmed to AFP that Machado would not appear.
Institute director Kristian Berg Harpviken told NRK radio that her daughter would step in, adding he had no information about where Machado is currently hiding.
Who Will Receive the Nobel Peace Prize on Her Behalf?
Ana Corina Sosa Machado, who works in New York at the process-intelligence SaaS firm Celonis, will represent her mother on stage. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a degree in industrial engineering from the University of Michigan.
Ana Corina frequently represents her mother internationally and has advocated for global recognition of the Venezuelan opposition’s claims regarding the 2024 election, which they argue was stolen by Maduro.
Their candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, now living in exile, is also in Oslo for the ceremony.
Political Tensions Surrounding the Ceremony
Machado maintains that Maduro fraudulently secured a third term in Venezuela’s July 2024 presidential election, a position backed by many Western governments. Her Nobel recognition comes at a politically volatile moment:
- U.S. military operations in the Caribbean have increased, with Washington conducting strikes on vessels it identifies as drug-smuggling threats.
- Maduro claims these actions are part of a broader U.S. strategy to overthrow him and seize Venezuela’s oil resources—allegations Machado openly rejects.
- Several Latin American leaders, including Argentina’s President Javier Milei, are in Oslo for the ceremony, highlighting the geopolitical attention around the award.
Machado’s Public Silence and Continued Influence
Since going underground last year, Machado has largely avoided public appearances. The only exception came on January 9 in Caracas, when she briefly appeared at a protest against Maduro’s inauguration.
Still, her influence remains strong. She received the Nobel Peace Prize on October 10 for her efforts to promote democratic reform and challenge Maduro’s decade-long grip on power. The international community continues to view her as a central figure in Venezuela’s opposition movement, even as critics point to her close alignment with former U.S. President Donald Trump, to whom she dedicated her award.
Has the Nobel Prize Ever Been Accepted by Proxy?
Yes. Harpviken noted that family members have previously accepted the Peace Prize when recipients were jailed, targeted, or unable to travel. Machado now joins that list of absent laureates, adding another layer to the political symbolism of this year’s award.
Meanwhile, Nobel laureates in science, literature, and economics are attending their traditional ceremony in Stockholm.
