Dramatic Escape: Venezuelan Nobel Laureate María Corina Machado Flees in Disguise to Oslo

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has made a dramatic escape from Venezuela and arrived in Oslo just hours after being named a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Disguised and dodging military checkpoints in a risky journey that included a 35-mile Caribbean crossing, Machado stunned supporters by appearing publicly for the first time since going into hiding. Her escape has reignited international attention on Venezuela’s political crisis and human rights challenges.

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Transcript

00:00Venezuelan opposition leader and newly announced Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Carina Machado

00:16has made a dramatic escape from Venezuela, traveling in disguise, crossing the Caribbean

00:22in a small fishing boat, and arriving in Oslo just hours after her daughter accepted the award on

00:27her behalf. Her sudden appearance in Norway stunned observers, who believed she was still

00:33hiding inside Venezuela. According to reports, Machado left her safe house in Caracas late

00:40Monday night. Wearing a wig and a full disguise, she began a 10-hour journey through at least 10

00:47military checkpoints, a route planned in secrecy for weeks. Her team reportedly rehearsed multiple

00:53fallback routes in case security forces intercepted her convoy. Machado, a fierce critic of President

01:01Nicolas Maduro, has been barred from public office and went into hiding after the disputed

01:072024 election. Her supporters say leaving the country carried enormous personal risk, including

01:14possible arrest before reaching the border. Human rights groups say she has long been targeted

01:19by state surveillance and political intimidation. By midnight, the opposition leader had reached

01:26the Venezuelan coast, where she rested briefly in a small fishing village as her team prepared

01:31the next phase of her escape. Residents reportedly helped keep her presence quiet, fearing that

01:37the military could be searching nearby. At dawn, Machado boarded a traditional wooden skiff with

01:45two companions. Their 35-mile journey across the Caribbean to Curaçao took hours longer than

01:51expected, with strong winds and choppy seas delaying the crossing and raising fears they could be

01:57intercepted. Those involved say the crossing was the riskiest part of the entire operation.

02:05Around the same time, US military aircraft were spotted in the region. Washington said it was a

02:11routine training flight, but a source quoted in US media said Machado's escape team notified

02:17American officials to prevent any misunderstanding with the small vessel. The episode highlighted how

02:22sensitive the airspace and waters have become around Venezuela. Machado reached Curaçao safely on

02:30Tuesday afternoon. She stayed overnight at a hotel while allies arranged a private jet, reportedly sent from

02:37Miami. That would take her on the final leg to Europe. Local authorities did not comment on her presence,

02:43maintaining tight discretion.

02:47Her daughter, Anna Karina Sosa, accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. She told the audience she had not

02:55seen her mother in more than two years, reading a voice message Machado recorded earlier in the journey,

03:00apologizing for missing the ceremony and thanking those who secured her escape. The emotional moment

03:06underscored the family's long separation under Venezuela's political crisis.

03:12I am here on behalf of my mother, Maria Corina Machado, who has united millions of Venezuelans in an

03:20extraordinary effort that you, our hosts, have honored with the Nobel Peace Prize. And as I wait that

03:29moment to hug her, to kiss her, to embrace her after two years, I think of the other daughters and sons who

03:39do not get to see their mothers today. Machado's plane touched down in Oslo just after midnight.

03:48Instead of appearing immediately, she went to meet her family, but later surprised waiting supporters by

03:54emerging from the Grand Hotel, waving and singing Venezuela's national anthem. Crowds described her

04:00arrival as a symbolic victory over political repression. In scenes captured outside the hotel,

04:08Machado leaned over metal barriers to embrace supporters, many of whom had waited for hours to

04:13greet her. It was her first public appearance since going into hiding more than a year ago. Some in the

04:20crowd described it as a historic moment for Venezuelans living abroad. Back in Caracas,

04:27the Maduro government issued a strongly worded statement accusing Washington of political theater

04:33connected to the Nobel ceremony. The remarks followed a US operation involving a Venezuelan oil tanker,

04:40which officials said was an attempt to distract attention. State media accused Machado of seeking

04:46asylum abroad, a claim her allies deny. Machado has vowed to return to Venezuela, but legal experts

04:56warn she faces the threat of arrest if she goes back. For now, her dramatic escape and surprise

05:02appearance in Oslo have reshaped her international profile and reignited global attention on the

05:08country's political crisis. Norwegian officials have not commented on her next steps, but supporters

05:13believe she will continue campaigning from abroad.

Dramatic Escape: Venezuelan Nobel Laureate María Corina Machado Flees in Disguise to Oslo | APT

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