María Corina Machado, Venezuela's opposition leader who has been concealing her whereabouts since last year's disputed presidential election, has confirmed she will travel to Oslo this week to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, despite threats from Caracas' authorities that she will be branded a fugitive and possibly detained.

Norway's Nobel Institute director announced on December 6 that Machado had finalised her plans to attend the December 10 ceremony, though he would not disclose specifics about her journey for safety reasons.

"I was in contact with Machado last night and she confirms that she will be in Oslo for the ceremony," Kristian Berg Harpviken told AFP. "Given the security situation, we cannot say more about the date or how she will arrive."

The 58-year-old conservative firebrand faces considerable dangers both in departing the country and in any attempt to re-enter. Attorney General Tarek William Saab has declared that Machado would be treated as a fugitive should she travel to Norway, noting that authorities accuse her of conspiracy, stoking hatred and terrorist activities.

Her decision comes amid escalating tensions between Washington and Caracas. The US has deployed major military assets to the region, including the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, in what it describes as counter-narcotics operations but which many observers suspect could presage regime change. President Donald Trump said last week that efforts to combat Venezuelan drug trafficking "by land" would begin "very soon", following months of deadly strikes on alleged drug-carrying vessels.

President Nicolas Maduro has long refuted Washington's narcotics allegations, denouncing the military build-up as a disguised effort to topple him and seize Venezuela's vast oil resources. The Trump administration designated the "Cartel de Los Soles" — which Washington claims Maduro controls — as a foreign terrorist organisation, though Caracas dismisses the group as "nonexistent" and independent analysts question whether such a centralised cartel exists.

Machado has thrown her weight behind the American military deployment, terming it a "necessary measure" toward the "restoration of popular sovereignty in Venezuela" — a position that has drawn criticism from certain factions of the opposition and ratcheted up tensions with the Maduro regime.

Diplomats and Venezuela specialists caution that Maduro might permit Machado to depart but prevent her re-entry, potentially weakening her political standing by compelling her into exile abroad. Such a trajectory has affected previous Venezuelan opposition figures, including one-time interim president Juan Guaidó.

"While Maduro is happy to let Machado leave, he's not going to let her come back without a price," said Geoff Ramsey, a Venezuela analyst at the Atlantic Council, as quoted by the WSJ.

The Nobel committee recognised Machado in October for her "tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy". The award marked Venezuela's first Nobel Prize.

Machado has spent over two decades spearheading a political movement challenging Venezuela's authoritarian rulers since former president Hugo Chavez came to power in 1998. She was barred from standing as a candidate in the July 2024 election on trumped-up corruption charges, leading seasoned diplomat Edmundo González to run in her stead. Maduro proclaimed victory, refusing to release detailed voting tallies and rejecting international assessments that González had won. After being threatened with arrest, González escaped to Spain seeking asylum.

In contrast, Machado has remained in hiding within Venezuela, defying an intensifying regime crackdown against dissent.

She previously told CBS News in October that she anticipated the Nobel would afford her "a lot of protection" from the Maduro government. "But the most important thing, is that it highlights, worldwide, the importance of the struggle of Venezuela," she said.

Meanwhile, multiple Latin American presidents have announced they will travel to Oslo in solidarity with Machado, including Argentina's Javier Milei, Panama's José Raúl Mulino, Paraguay's Santiago Peña and Ecuador's Daniel Noboa. Florida congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar has likewise indicated plans to attend.

Mulino, who severed Panama's diplomatic ties with Venezuela in July 2024 following the disputed election, stated: "It is a great opportunity to be there, to support this woman who is a symbol of the tenacious fight against a dictatorship that has left the people of Venezuela oppressed, humiliated and impoverished. I hope she will be there."

Argentina's President Milei is scheduled to depart on December 8 evening for Norway, with plans to later in the week to attend extraordinary parliamentary sessions addressing his government's 2026 budget and reform package. Upon learning of Machado's award, Milei wrote on social media: "My congratulations on this well-deserved recognition for your enormous struggle in the courageous defence of FREEDOM and democracy. Thank you for the inspiration with which you illuminate the world fighting against the narco-dictatorship of Venezuela."

On December 7, Machado's supporters and Venezuelan exiles mounted demonstrations in cities across the globe to mark her Nobel recognition, with rallies occurring in Madrid, Utrecht and more than 80 other locations worldwide, according to her organisation.