President Javier Milei traveled to Oslo for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony awarded to María Corina Machado, but returned to Argentina without meeting the Venezuelan opposition leader or Norwegian officials. Machado's daughter received the award on her behalf due to her delayed arrival after clandestinely escaping Venezuela. The Argentine government congratulated Machado for her fight in defense of democracy.
On December 10, 2025, María Corina Machado was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her activism against Nicolás Maduro's regime in Venezuela. However, she could not attend the Oslo ceremony due to her clandestine escape from the country: she left at night in a boat with U.S. officials' support, passing through Curaçao before heading to Norway. Her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, received the prize on her behalf and read a letter from her mother during the event.
In the speech, Sosa recounted Venezuela's fight for freedom: “Your Majesties, Royal Highnesses, distinguished members of the Nobel Committee, citizens of the world, my dear Venezuelans: I have come to tell you a story, the story of a people and their long march toward freedom.” She criticized the dismantling of democracy since 1999, the violation of the Constitution, corruption in the Armed Forces, and fraud in the 2024 elections, where Edmundo González Urrutia received 77% of the votes according to opposition tallies. She denounced the subsequent repression: “The dictatorship responded with terror. Two thousand five hundred people were kidnapped, disappeared, or tortured.”
Javier Milei, Argentina's president, attended the ceremony alongside leaders such as Ecuador's Daniel Noboa, Paraguay's Santiago Peña, and Panama's José Raúl Mulino. Due to uncertainty about Machado's arrival, Milei canceled scheduled meetings with King Harald V and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre—which were not on the Norwegian agenda—and returned by flight, arriving in Buenos Aires Thursday morning. The Argentine government issued a statement congratulating Machado: “She is the most recognized activist and politician worldwide for her tireless fight in defense of democracy, human rights, and individual freedoms.” It targeted Maduro's “socialist regime,” which ignores electoral will, and reaffirmed Milei's commitment to restoring democracy in Venezuela.
Machado will arrive in Oslo that night and give a public speech on Thursday, generating expectation in the Norwegian press. Meanwhile, Maduro reacted with an outburst in Caracas, calling to mobilize chavismo and “break their teeth” against the United States, and prevented Cardinal Porras from leaving the country.
