Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado appeared in Oslo, Norway, after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, waving from the balcony of the Grand Hotel after months in hiding.
Machado made the covert journey despite a travel ban, and has mostly laid low since Venezuela’s disputed presidential election in 2024. She last appeared in public in January.
From the balcony on Wednesday with a crowd cheering below, Machado placed her hand on her heart and sang with her supporters, before walking outside to greet them in person.
Her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, accepted the award on her mother’s behalf earlier in the day.
Maria Corina Machado jumps over barricades outside the Grand Hotel in Oslo to greet cheering supporters. [Reuters]
The Nobel Institute awarded Machado the Peace Prize this year for “her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy” in Venezuela.
Afterwards, Machado went outside to greet her supporters, who waited behind metal barricades on the street.
“Maria!” “Maria, here!” they shouted in Spanish, as many held their phones aloft to record the historic moment.
At one point, Machado climbed over the barriers to join them.
Machado smiles as supporters and media gather to see her arrival. [AFP via Getty Images]
Her appearance was preceded by speculation that she would travel to Norway for the award ceremony.
The Nobel committee shared audio of Machado declaring, “I will be in Oslo, I am on my way.”
After her Peace Prize win, Machado made a point to praise US President Donald Trump, who is open about his own ambitions for the Peace Prize and is locked in ongoing military tension with Venezuela.
On Wednesday, Trump announced the US military had seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. His administration alleges the vessel was under sanction and was involved in an “illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organisations”.
The Venezuelan government accused the US of theft and piracy.
María Corina Machado sat down with BBC News chief presenter Lucy Hockings minutes after arriving in Oslo and just after her first public appearance in 11 months. Watch her exclusive interview across BBC News soon.
