Venezuela’s Machado Won’t Receive Peace Prize in Person, Says Nobel Official

María Corina Machado risked being barred from returning home if she traveled to Norway to receive the prize.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado won’t collect the Nobel Peace Prize in person at Wednesday’s ceremony in Oslo, the head of the Norwegian Nobel Institute said.

María Corina Machado last year.

Machado had previously said she was trying to attend despite the risk of being barred from returning home. But institute head Kristian Berg Harpviken told Norwegian broadcaster NRK Wednesday that she wasn’t in Norway and wouldn’t appear at the event. He added it was unclear whether Machado would make it to Oslo at all.

Her daughter will accept the award at Oslo City Hall on her behalf, said Harpviken, who is also the secretary of the Nobel Committee.

Machado has spent most of the past year hiding to avoid arrest. She recently told NRK that she was doing everything possible to travel to Norway and return to her country, despite the challenges of both leaving and re-entering Venezuela.

Write to Stu Woo at Stu.Woo@wsj.com