Nobel laureate Machado says US helped her flee Venezuela to Norway

​​​​​​​By Necva Tastan Sevinc

ISTANBUL (AA) - Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado said Thursday that she received assistance from the US to secretly leave Venezuela and travel to Norway, describing her escape as a “dangerous” and tightly coordinated operation carried out without the knowledge of Venezuelan authorities.

Machado, who has been in hiding since January and is under a decade-long travel ban, told reporters in Oslo that she could not disclose operational details but confirmed US support in helping her reach the Norwegian capital.

“Yes, we did get support from the United States government,” she said. “I cannot give details, because these are people that could be harmed.”

She said the Venezuelan government “did not know” where she was living in hiding, which made it harder for security forces to prevent her departure.

“Certainly, the regime would have done everything to prevent me from coming,” she added.

Machado missed Wednesday’s award ceremony, with her daughter receiving the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf.

The 58-year-old opposition figure, one of the most prominent critics of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, said she intends to return to Venezuela but declined to give a date.

“I will take the prize back to Venezuela at the correct moment,” she said.

Earlier, Machado met Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and visited the Norwegian parliament, where she was welcomed by Speaker Masud Gharahkhani, NRK news reported.

The parliamentary president praised her courage, saying democracy “depends on people who refuse to be silenced.”

Machado, who has been in hiding since Venezuela’s 2024 elections, has urged the international community to take action against Maduro. In 2018, she sent a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requesting his “expertise and influence.”

Although US President Donald Trump had publicly suggested himself as a potential candidate for the award, Machado received the prize “for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela.”​​​​​​​