OSLO — Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado sustained a fractured vertebra while escaping Venezuela by boat last week, a spokesperson confirmed on December 15, following a Norwegian media report.
Machado, honored for her tireless advocacy for democracy and peaceful transition in Venezuela, defied a decade-long travel ban and spent over a year in hiding before her dramatic journey to Oslo. She arrived too late for the official prize ceremony on December 10, but doctors in Norway have since diagnosed her injury, sustained during rough weather on the boat trip.
After leaving Venezuela by boat and traveling via Curacao and the United States, Machado remains determined to return to Venezuela and achieve a peaceful change of government from President Nicolas Maduro. The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised her courage, noting her efforts have united the opposition and kept the flame of democracy alive amid growing authoritarianism.
Machado’s spokesperson declined to provide further details but confirmed the accuracy of the injury report, underscoring the risks faced by democracy advocates in Venezuela.