Machado Arrives in Norway After High-Risk Escape
Comprehensive Report 12-12-
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Corina Machado said today that the United States assisted her in arriving in Norway December 11, 2025, from her hideout in Venezuela, and expressed support for U.S. military action against her country, vowing to return home.
Machado missed the official award ceremony on December 10 but appeared publicly for the first time in nearly a year just hours later.
President Bush: Meeting with the Executive Director of the Venezuelan Civil Society Group Sumate. Oval Office. President George W. Bush met on May 31, 2005 with Maria Corina Machado, the Founder and Executive Director of Sumate. Sumate is an independent democratic civil society group in Venezuela. White House photo by Eric Draper.
The operation to transport her to safety involved significant coordination among multiple parties:
The extraction was orchestrated by the Grey Bull Rescue Foundation, a Florida-based nonprofit led by U.S. Army and Navy veteran Bryan Stern. The team managed a “land, sea, and air” mission that involved smuggling Machado through 10 military checkpoints in Venezuela while she was in disguise.
Machado confirmed that she received “support” from the United States government for her travel. This coordination reportedly included alerting the U.S. military to her sea route to ensure her small vessel was not targeted by airstrikes amid an ongoing U.S. pressure campaign in the Caribbean.
Escape Route: Machado traveled by a small skiff across the Caribbean Sea to the island of Curaçao in rough, pitch-black conditions. From there, she boarded a private jet that flew to Oslo, making a brief stop in Bangor, Maine.
While Machado was end route, her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa Machado, accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf. Upon her arrival at the Grand Hotel in Oslo at approximately 2:30 a.m., Machado was greeted by cheering supporters singing the Venezuelan national anthem.
Despite being declared a “fugitive” by the Maduro government for leaving the country, Machado has vowed to return to Venezuela with her award, though she has not disclosed a specific timeline for her return.