In a dramatic and emotional return to the global stage, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado emerged from months of hiding to accept the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, on December 11, 2025. The event, marked by covert travel, international intrigue, and impassioned pleas for democracy, has reignited debate over Venezuela’s future and the world’s response to its ongoing crisis.
Machado, 58, had not been seen in public since January 2025. Her sudden appearance on the balcony of Oslo’s Grand Hotel, waving to crowds of cheering supporters, was nothing short of electrifying. According to BBC, many in the crowd shouted “Maria! Maria!” as she blew kisses, sang, and even climbed over barricades to greet them. For Machado, the moment was deeply personal—she had spent over 16 months in hiding, separated from her children and missing family milestones such as graduations and weddings. “For over 16 months I haven’t been able to hug or touch anyone,” she told the BBC. “Suddenly in the matter of a few hours I’ve been able to see the people I love the most, and touch them and cry and pray together.”
The journey to Oslo was fraught with danger. The Venezuelan government had barred Machado from leaving the country, labeling her a fugitive and accusing her of conspiracy, incitement of hatred, and terrorism. Venezuela’s attorney general publicly warned that she would be arrested if she attempted to travel to Norway. Despite these threats, Machado managed a daring escape. The Wall Street Journal reported that she wore a disguise, passed through ten military checkpoints, and sailed away from a coastal fishing village on a wooden skiff before eventually flying to Norway. The plan, months in the making, involved a clandestine network of supporters—and, as Machado confirmed, support from the United States government. “Yes, we did get support from the United States government,” she acknowledged at a news conference, though she declined to elaborate on the specifics.
Her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, had accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf earlier that day. The Nobel Institute awarded Machado the prize for “her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy” in Venezuela. Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, described her journey as “a situation of extreme danger” and said, “In the middle of the night to have you here, it’s incredible. It’s hard to describe what it means to the Nobel committee and to all of us.”
Machado’s defiance of the Maduro regime is nothing new. She has long been one of the most respected voices in Venezuela’s opposition, denouncing President Nicolás Maduro’s government as “criminal” and calling for unity to depose it. Barred from running in the 2024 presidential elections—a vote widely dismissed internationally as neither free nor fair—she continued to campaign for opposition candidate Edmundo González, who was later forced into exile. The Maduro government’s crackdown intensified, with reports of disqualifications, arrests, and human rights abuses. Machado herself was briefly detained in January 2025 after joining a protest in Caracas, prompting her to go into hiding.
Her return to public life comes at a critical juncture. The United States, under President Donald Trump, has escalated pressure on Maduro’s government. On December 11, just hours before Machado’s appearance in Oslo, the Trump administration announced the seizure of an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast, alleging its involvement in an “illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations” connected to Venezuela and Iran. US Attorney General Pam Bondi stated that the tanker had been sanctioned for these activities. The Maduro government condemned the seizure, calling it “an act of international piracy.”
Machado has consistently argued that Maduro’s regime is propped up by criminal activities, including drug trafficking and illegal oil sales. “The regime is using the resources—the cash flows that come from illegal activities, including the black market of oil—not to give food for hungry children, not for teachers who earn $1 a day, not to hospitals in Venezuela that do not have medicine or water, not for security. They use those resources to repress and persecute our people,” she said at a news conference in Oslo, as reported by CNN. She urged the international community to take action: “So yes, these criminal groups have to be stopped, and cutting the sources of illegal activities is a very necessary step to take.”
While Machado welcomed international support, she walked a careful line regarding US military intervention. When asked whether she would support such action, she replied that Venezuela had already been “invaded” by Russian and Iranian agents, terrorist groups, and Colombian drug cartels operating with impunity and funding Maduro’s regime. “We didn’t want a war, we didn’t look for it… it was Maduro who declared war on the Venezuelan people,” she told the BBC. Yet, she avoided directly endorsing US military strikes, emphasizing instead the need for international efforts to cut off illicit funding to the regime.
Her commitment to Venezuela remains unwavering. Despite the risks, Machado has vowed to return home. “Of course I’m going back,” she told the BBC. “I know exactly the risks I’m taking. I’m going to be in the place where I’m most useful for our cause.” She doubled down on this promise in conversations with CNN and AP, stating, “I’ll be back in Venezuela, I have no doubt.” She added, “If Maduro’s government is still in place when she returns, ‘I will be with my people and they will not know where I am. We have ways to do that and take care of us.’”
Machado’s appearance in Oslo was not only a personal triumph but also a rallying point for Venezuelans at home and abroad. She was greeted by supporters who, like her, dream of a “bright, democratic and free” Venezuela. “Peace, ultimately, is an act of love,” she said. “I am very hopeful Venezuela will be free, and we will turn the country into a beacon of hope and opportunity, of democracy.”
The road ahead remains perilous. The Maduro regime continues to label Machado a terrorist and a fugitive, and her return could trigger further reprisals. Yet, as the Nobel Committee’s Frydnes noted, the responsibility for a peaceful transition lies squarely with those in power. “The power lies in the Maduro regime, they have the responsibility to make sure this is a peaceful transition,” he told the BBC.
For now, Machado’s journey—fraught with risk and buoyed by international solidarity—has brought fresh attention to the Venezuelan struggle for democracy. Whether her return will mark a turning point remains uncertain, but her resolve and the world’s gaze are firmly fixed on Venezuela’s next chapter.
