Overview
- Hours before the Oslo ceremony, the Nobel Institute scrapped María Corina Machado’s scheduled press conference and said it could not say when or how she might arrive.
- The award event is set for 1 p.m. local time at Oslo City Hall with King Harald, Queen Sonja and several Latin American presidents in attendance, and heavy security deployed in the city.
- The institute’s director said Machado wants to attend and is en route, but her current whereabouts remain unknown and her appearance is still uncertain.
- Venezuelan authorities say she would be treated as a “fugitive” if she travels due to ongoing criminal investigations, while Nobel officials note a close family member could collect the prize and deliver the lecture if she cannot attend.
- The prize has drawn political backlash and logistical wrinkles, including a government rally in Venezuela and Norway’s Peace Council refusing to run the traditional torch procession, which a Venezuelan diaspora group will now organize.