{"id":17362,"date":"2026-02-18T13:57:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T13:57:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/17362\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T13:57:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T13:57:26","slug":"venezuelas-maria-corina-machado-appears-in-oslo-after-a-year-in-hiding-international","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/17362\/","title":{"rendered":"Venezuela\u2019s Mar\u00eda Corina Machado appears in Oslo after a year in hiding | International"},"content":{"rendered":"

A life of clandestinity<\/a> is over for Mar\u00eda Corina Machado. After more than a year in hiding for security reasons, the Venezuelan opposition leader, this year\u2019s Nobel Peace Prize laureate<\/a>, arrived in Oslo at midnight on Thursday. At around 2:30 a.m., Machado, who had not left her country for 14 years, appeared on the balcony of the Grand Hotel and greeted the crowd waiting for her in the street, with whom she sang the Venezuelan national anthem.<\/p>\n

A few minutes later, Machado, dressed in black, went down to the street surrounded by heavy security to continue greeting and taking selfies with her supporters. \u201cMar\u00eda, you did it!\u201d they shouted. \u201cOslo, here I am!\u201d the Venezuelan politician said on her social media profile. In another post, alongside photos of her meeting with those waiting for her arrival in the Norwegian capital, Machado said: \u201cThe hug that all of Venezuela needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The opposition leader carried out her first official engagements in the Norwegian parliament Thursday, including a meeting and a press conference with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr St\u00f8re. Machado left Venezuela Tuesday by boat<\/a> for the Caribbean island of Cura\u00e7ao before heading to Europe, according to The Wall Street Journal.<\/p>\n

The BBC revealed in an interview<\/a> with Machado that the opposition leader had to cross a dozen military checkpoints in disguise and traveled from Cura\u00e7ao to the Norwegian capital on a private plane that flew in from Miami. \u201cI just want to say today that I\u2019m here, because many men and women risked their lives in order for me to arrive in Oslo,\u201d the Nobel Peace Prize winner said in conversation with journalist Lucy Hockings. \u201cOf course I\u2019m going back [to Venezuela],\u201d Machado continued, \u201cI\u2019m going to be in the place where I\u2019m most useful for our cause.\u201d<\/p>\n

Highly anticipated and hugely symbolic, Machado\u2019s arrival in the Norwegian capital marks a milestone for the opposition to Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s regime and for millions of Venezuelans who have been following every clue that has emerged in recent days about the opposition leader\u2019s whereabouts. Her departure from Venezuela also poses a challenge for the Chavista government and raises new questions about the future at a critical moment in the country\u2019s political history.<\/p>\n

Over the last 24 hours, the story of Machado\u2019s journey to reach Norway underwent an endless series of unexpected twists and turns. Early Wednesday morning, the Norwegian Nobel Institute announced that this year\u2019s winner would not be present at the ceremony at Oslo City Hall. About an hour before the gala, however, the institution said in a statement that the Venezuelan opposition leader had embarked \u201con a journey in a situation of extreme danger\u201d and that she \u201chad done everything possible to attend the ceremony.\u201d \u201cWe are deeply happy to confirm that she is safe and will be with us,\u201d it added. Just a few minutes later, a call between the leader and the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, J\u00f8rgen Watne Frydnes, was broadcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will be in Oslo, I am on my way,\u201d Machado said in the telephone conversation. \u201cI know that there are hundreds of Venezuelans from different parts of the world that were able to reach your city, as well as my family and my team,\u201d the opposition leader said. \u201cAs soon as I arrive I will be able to embrace all my family and my children that I have not seen for two years and so many Venezuelan-Norwegians that I know share our struggle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amid the confusion, conflicting information, and great anticipation, it was the award winner\u2019s daughter, Ana Corina Sosa<\/a>, who collected the prize on her behalf and read her acceptance speech. \u201cOur political prisoners, the persecuted, their families, and all who defend human rights,\u201d said the opposition leader in her message, \u201cto them belongs this honor. To them belongs this day. To them belongs the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

J\u00f8rgen Watne Frydnes and Ana Corina Sosa Machado attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony at Oslo City Hall on December 10, 2025.Per Ole Hagen (WireImage\/Getty images)<\/p>\n

In Oslo were her family members, her closest collaborators and allies, her message, and her determination to continue the struggle. \u201cI have come here to tell you a story: the story of a people and their long march toward freedom,\u201d her daughter said in the speech. \u201cWhat an honor to hear my acceptance speech for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize in my daughter\u2019s voice, and to know that very soon I will be able to embrace her and my family again,\u201d Machado wrote in her first social media post after three days of silence, when it was already nighttime in freezing Oslo and shortly after hundreds of Venezuelans took to the streets to participate in the traditional torchlight procession<\/a>, a symbol that has been repeated on the streets of the Norwegian capital since 1954, honoring each year\u2019s winners and demonstrating that light always prevails in the darkness.<\/p>\n

\u201cFreedom, freedom, freedom, Venezuela, freedom!\u201d roared the Venezuelan diaspora outside the Grand Hotel, where the Nobel suite was still awaiting the arrival of this year\u2019s laureate. Ana Corina Sosa appeared on the balcony. Torches were raised to the sky. A huge Venezuelan flag was placed on the steps of the Norwegian parliament. And the crowd shouted, sang, and cried. The Nobel Prize marked the greatest symbolic achievement for the Venezuelan opposition after two decades of darkness, repression, and powerlessness. And then, finally, Mar\u00eda Corina arrived.<\/p>\n

Rams\u00e9s Parra, 22, had been waiting all night for Machado with his brothers Leander and Luis, 19 and 25, in front of the Grand Hotel, which has been converted into the Venezuelan opposition\u2019s headquarters in Oslo. \u201cShe is the spokesperson for those of us who cannot speak,\u201d said the young man, with the Venezuelan flag draped over his shoulders. The three young men, originally from the state of Cojedes, hoped to get the politician\u2019s attention so she can help them regularize their immigration status in Norway, where they have been living for four years.<\/p>\n

\u201cMar\u00eda, your people salute you! We love you!\u201d the crowd shouted when they saw her leaving the hotel, amid a heavy police presence. \u201cI love you too, see you soon,\u201d Machado replied, blowing kisses while being hurried along by the entourage escorting her to the Storting, the Norwegian parliament, where she began her official activities at around 8:30 a.m. Thursday. <\/p>\n

In the Scandinavian country\u2019s legislative body, she was scheduled to meet with parliamentarians and sign the distinguished visitors\u2019 book. At around 9:45 a.m., Prime Minister St\u00f8re was scheduled to receive Machado at the Norwegian government\u2019s guest house. The joint press conference was scheduled for 10:15 a.m., according to the program released by the Nobel Institute. Another meeting with the media has been announced for 12:30 p.m. at the hotel where she is staying.<\/p>\n

Sign up for our weekly newsletter<\/a> to get more English-language news coverage from EL PA\u00cdS USA Edition<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A life of clandestinity is over for Mar\u00eda Corina Machado. After more than a year in hiding for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17363,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[12483,10031,4244,157,156,12482,4247],"class_list":{"0":"post-17362","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oslo","8":"tag-bbc-news","9":"tag-maria-corina-machado","10":"tag-nicolas-maduro","11":"tag-norway","12":"tag-oslo","13":"tag-the-wall-street-journal","14":"tag-venezuela"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17362"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17362\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}