Nobel laureate Machado injured as she fled Venezuela, spokesperson says

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado reacts to the crowd gathered in front of the Grand Hotel, in Oslo, Norway, early Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (Jonas Been Henriksen/NTB Scanpix via AP)

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado fractured a vertebra while fleeing Venezuela on a small boat last week to receive the award in Oslo, a spokesperson for the opposition leader said on Monday, confirming a Norwegian media report.

Machado went to Norway in defiance of a decade-long travel ban imposed by authorities in her home country and after spending more than a year in hiding, but arrived too late for Wednesday’s official prize ceremony.

Doctors examining her in Oslo had since diagnosed a fracture in her back, Norwegian daily Aftenposten reported, citing anonymous sources.

The injury was sustained amid rough weather during the boat trip, according to the report.

A spokesperson for Machado told Reuters the Aftenposten report was accurate, but declined to give further details.

The laureate left Venezuela by boat early last week and traveled to the Caribbean island of Curacao, from where she departed on a private plane via the United States to Norway, a person familiar with the matter previously told Reuters.

Machado has said she plans to return to Venezuela, and that her aim is to achieve a peaceful transition of government from President Nicolas Maduro.

Reporting by Gwladys Fouche and Stine Jacobsen, editing by Anna Ringstrom, Terje Solsvik Editing by Alex Richardson, Reuters