Venezuelan opposition leader's daughter accepts Nobel Peace Prize in her absence

María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader who was awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, will not attend the ceremony in Oslo on Wednesday, the director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute said.

María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader who has been in hiding for over a year, was awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize on Wednesday, but did not attend the ceremony in Oslo.

Machado had “done everything in her power to come to the ceremony,” and her journey had been one “of extreme danger,” the Institute said in a statement.

But although the Institute was “profoundly happy to confirm that she is safe and that she will be with us in Oslo,” Machado was unable to receive the award in person at the ceremony attended by members of Norway's royal family as well as Latin American leaders including Argentine President Javier Milei and Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa.

Ana Corina Sosa (R), daughter of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, receives the Nobel Peace Prize for her mother from the Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Jorgen Watne Frydnes (L) at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony at Oslo City Hall on December 10, 2025 in Oslo, Norway. Odd Andersen / AFP via Getty ImagesInstead, a big portrait of Machado hung in the Oslo City Hall next to an empty seat on stage as her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa Machado, accepted the award on behalf of her mother to a standing ovation from the audience.

Sosa Machado said she would finally be able to embrace her mother in a few hours after “16 months of living hell.”