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The Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado has been unable to arrive in Oslo on the eve of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, a situation that keeps her family, the Venezuelan diaspora, and the international community in suspense.
The Nobel Institute of Norway confirmed this Tuesday that the press conference planned with the leader was canceled due to the inability to predict how and when she will be able to arrive in the Norwegian capital, as reported by the agency EFE.
"The press conference will not take place today," declared Erik Aasheim, spokesperson for the Nobel Institute, as reported by EFE. The event had initially been rescheduled, but was ultimately canceled due to the difficulties faced by the opposition leader in finalizing her trip from Venezuela, where she remains in hiding due to the persecution of Nicolás Maduro's regime.
The Nobel Institute recalled that Machado herself has described in interviews how “complicated the journey to Oslo will be,” a trip marked by open threats from chavismo and by the delicate security operation surrounding her departure.
The Committee had already recognized in November that the relocation posed real risks, although at that time the leader reaffirmed her intention to be present at the ceremony.
This Tuesday, her sister, Clara Machado Parisca, who is already in Oslo with their mother, Corina Parisca, and the leader's daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, emphasized that the Nobel laureate's wish is to arrive on time.
“Her intention is to be here with us,” she said to Blu Radio. “We are waiting for her with faith that she will arrive very soon.” Nevertheless, she acknowledged that she has no information about whether the leader has already left Venezuela.
While the central figure of the award remains missing, the Norwegian capital has begun to welcome a series of leaders and close associates who will attend Wednesday's ceremony.
Among them is Edmundo González Urrutia, the elected president of Venezuela and opposition candidate for 2024, who arrived in Oslo this Tuesday in what many consider a historic gesture of support for the democratic struggle.
The Panamanian president José Raúl Mulino is also in the Norwegian capital, and the presence of the Argentine Javier Milei is expected, as well as that of the Ecuadorian Daniel Noboa and the Paraguayan president Santiago Peña.
The award, granted on October 9, recognizes Machado's "tireless work" in defense of democratic rights in Venezuela. The leader dedicated the honor to the Cuban, Venezuelan, and Nicaraguan people, emphasizing that the fight for freedom in the region is a shared one.
Today, however, uncertainty weighs more than celebration. Whether Machado will be able to cross borders to personally receive the Nobel Peace Prize remains a mystery just hours before the ceremony. Her family insists she will arrive. The world is waiting for her. And her absence, whether temporary or permanent, will shape the political tone of an award that has already become a continental symbol.
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