THE WORLD

Nobel Peace Prize winner will not attend award ceremony

Maria Corina Machado

Photo: Associated Press

María Corina Machado, winner of the "Nobel Peace Prize", will be in Oslo, but will not attend the award ceremony.

Venezuelan opposition leader Machado is safe in Oslo after "a trip in a situation of extreme danger," although she will not attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony this afternoon, organizers have said. 

Machado has only been seen in public once since going into hiding in August last year, amid a tense standoff with President Nicolas Maduro. 

Venezuela's attorney general has said that Machado, 58, would be considered a "fugitive" if she left the country to accept the award. 

Machado has accused Maduro of stealing the results of the 2024 election, from which she was barred. Her claim is supported by most of the international community.

The Oslo ceremony coincides with a large US military buildup in the Caribbean in recent weeks and deadly attacks on what Washington calls drug trafficking ships.

Maduro has said that the purpose of the US operations, which Machado calls justified, is to overthrow the government and seize Venezuela's oil reserves.