Venezuelan opposition leader Machado defies travel ban to claim Nobel prize in Oslo

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has arrived in Norway to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, defying a decade-long travel ban as she is honored for her fight against dictatorship.

Gwladys Fouche/Reuters

11 December 2025 at 03:34:55

Venezuelan opposition leader Machado defies travel ban to claim Nobel prize in Oslo

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado arrives in Norway to receive Nobel Peace Prize after defying decade-long travel ban.

Reuters

After more than a year mostly spent in hiding and in defiance of a decade-long travel ban, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado arrived in Norway on Thursday, hours after a ceremony to award her the Nobel Peace Prize.

The head of the Norwegian Nobel Committee confirmed Machado had arrived.

Machado, 58, has been banned by the government of President Nicolas Maduro from leaving Venezuela since 2014, and an acceptance speech was delivered on Wednesday in her absence by her daughter.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the prize to Machado for her fight against what it called a dictatorship.

-Gwladys Fouche/Reuters