Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel laureate Maria Corina Machado sustained a confirmed vertebra fracture during a clandestine sea crossing while fleeing Venezuela to accept the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway. She was examined at Oslo University Hospital in Ullevål after arriving late and missing the ceremony. Her extraction, dubbed 'Golden Dynamite,' reportedly involved mechanical problems at sea, a 13–14 hour crossing to Curaçao and a private jet to Oslo. Machado has been in hiding since August 2024 after accusing President Nicolás Maduro of stealing the July 2024 election.
Nobel Laureate Maria Corina Machado Suffers Vertebra Fracture During Secret Sea Escape From Venezuela
Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado said she feared for her life on the journey to Norway (Odd ANDERSEN)(Odd ANDERSEN/AFP/AFP)
Maria Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, suffered a confirmed vertebra fracture during a clandestine journey out of hiding to Norway, her spokeswoman said Monday.
Escape and Injury
According to reports in the Norwegian daily Aftenposten and statements from Machado's team, the injury occurred during a hazardous high-seas crossing in a small fishing boat that was battered by heavy waves. Machado's spokeswoman, Claudia Macero, said: 'The vertebra fracture is confirmed.' Macero added that no further medical details would be released beyond the newspaper's reporting.
Arrival and Medical Check
Machado arrived in Oslo in the early hours of Thursday and was examined by physicians at Oslo University Hospital in Ullevål. Though she repeatedly requested a medical check-up after arrival, her team has not disclosed additional clinical details. Despite her injury, she climbed over a barrier to greet supporters outside her hotel shortly after arriving — an encounter witnessed by AFP journalists.
How She Left Venezuela
Machado has been living in hiding inside Venezuela since August 2024 after challenging President Nicolás Maduro and accusing his government of stealing the July 2024 election — an allegation echoed by much of the international community. Caracas had warned it would consider her a fugitive if she left the country, and Machado's team has released few specifics about the extraction.
Reports say she used disguises, including a wig, to travel from Caracas to the northern coast and passed through around 10 checkpoints without detection. Bryan Stern, head of a nonprofit rescue organisation who says he took part in the operation nicknamed 'Golden Dynamite,' described a troubled sea leg: the first skiff failed to start and later lost GPS, forcing Machado to transfer, soaking and shivering, to another boat for a 13–14 hour crossing to Curaçao.
Final Leg to Oslo
From Curaçao, Machado reportedly boarded a private jet bound for Oslo, with a brief stop in the United States en route. She had been scheduled to attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony but was delayed and did not arrive in time. In Oslo she told reporters she had feared for her life during the journey: 'There were moments when I felt that there was a real risk to my life... I simply felt that I was in God's hands,' she said.
Note: Medical staff at Oslo University Hospital evaluated Machado after her arrival. Her team has not released further clinical information.
