Overview
- Norwegian officials said María Corina Machado was not in Norway during the ceremony, and her daughter Ana Corina Sosa Machado accepted the medal and diploma.
- The Institute later communicated that Machado is traveling to Oslo, with spokesperson Erik Aasheim and director Kristian Berg Harpviken saying she is safe and expected soon.
- Venezuela’s attorney general previously warned she would be deemed a fugitive if she left the country, raising risks of detention or a return ban that could affect the opposition.
- Machado has lived in hiding inside Venezuela and has not appeared publicly since early January, after being barred from the 2024 presidential process.
- Regional leaders including Argentina’s Javier Milei, Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa, Panama’s José Raúl Mulino, and Paraguay’s Santiago Peña attended, as debate persisted over Machado’s praise for U.S. President Donald Trump and her stance toward external pressure on Venezuela.