OSLO, Dec 10 (Reuters) – Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado is safe and ‘will come to Oslo’, but not in time for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, the Norwegian Nobel Institute said on Wednesday.
Corina, 58, was due to receive the award at a ceremony at Oslo City Hall, attended by King Harald, Queen Sonja and Latin American leaders including Argentine President Javier Milei and Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa.
“Although she is unable to attend today’s ceremony and events, we are deeply happy to confirm that she is safe and that she will be with us in Oslo,” the institute said in a statement titled ‘Maria Machado will come to Oslo.’
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It was not known when she would be in Oslo.
Corina is subject to a decade-long travel ban imposed by authorities in her home country, and has spent more than a year in hiding.
The ceremony will still be held. When a laureate is unable to attend, a close family member often steps in to accept the award. In this case, it will be Corina’s daughter, Ana Corina Sosa Machado, the Nobel Institute previously reported.
When he won the award in October, Corina dedicated it in part to US President Donald Trump, who said he himself deserved the honor.
President Nicolás Maduro, in power since 2013, says Trump is trying to overthrow him to gain access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves and that Venezuelan citizens and the Armed Forces would resist any attempt to do so.
