Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado makes appearance in Oslo

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado appeared in public on Thursday for the first time in 11 months in Norway as her daughter accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf.

Machado had been in hiding since January 9, when she was briefly detained after joining supporters in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital. His recognition came after he launched a peaceful challenge to the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The crowd chanted “Freedom!” as Machado climbed onto a hotel balcony in Oslo, Norway, and greeted his supporters before joining them in singing Venezuela’s national anthem.

In an audio recording of a phone call posted on the Nobel Prize website, Machado said she would not be able to make it to Oslo in time for the prize ceremony, but that many people had “risked their lives” to get her there.

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Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado greets at the Grand Hotel in Oslo, Norway, December 11, 2025. (Lise Åserud/NTB Scanpix via AP)

“I am very grateful to them, and it is a measure of what this recognition means to the Venezuelan people,” she said.

Her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, accepted the Nobel Prize in her place, saying her mother “wants to live in a free Venezuela” and “will never give up on this goal.”

“That’s why we all know, and I know, that she will be back in Venezuela very soon,” Sosa added.

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The Nobel Peace Prize’s daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, accepts the award on behalf of her mother, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, during the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony at City Hall in Oslo, Norway, December 10. (Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB Scanpix, pool via AP)

Outside the hotel, Machado interacted and hugged people in the crowd, while they took photos and peppered her with chants of “President! President!”

“I want you all to return to Venezuela,” Machado said.

Machado’s appearance comes after President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the United States had seized a Venezuelan oil tanker, a move that could further strain relations with Maduro’s government, which is already the subject of tough U.S. sanctions targeting the country’s oil sector.

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Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures during a protest ahead of Friday’s inauguration of President Nicolás Maduro for his third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 9, 2025. (Reuters/Maxwell Briceno)

Since September, U.S. military strikes have targeted suspected drug traffickers near Venezuela at least 22 times, killing 87 people. Trump also recently said Maduro’s “days are numbered” and refused to rule out a ground operation in Venezuela.

Steve Yates, senior fellow on China and national security policy at the Heritage Foundation, said Wednesday on “Fox News @ Night” that Machado visit overseas It was an opportunity to gain “greater international support” for his cause, adding that Trump could benefit from more of America’s allies in Europe supporting a “non-invasion” approach.

The Venezuelan opposition leader has already openly expressed support for the Trump administration’s actions against the Maduro regime and the country’s drug trafficking network.

After the prize was announced in October, the new Nobel Peace Prize laureate dedicated the prize to both Trump and the “suffering people of Venezuela.”

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Venezuelan ship destroyed during a US military strike off the coast of Venezuela, September 2, 2025. (@realDonaldTrump via Truth Social)

Machado said in an interview on “Fox & Friends Weekend” last month that Venezuela was on the “threshold of freedom,” highlighting his new “freedom manifesto” that envisions a future without Maduro’s regime.

Morgan Phillips of Fox News Digital and the Associated Press contributed to this report.