Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado made a harrowing and clandestine escape from her home country in December 2025 to attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Norway, where she was awarded the 2025 prize. The daring operation, which involved significant risks, was widely reported by international news outlets including The Wall Street Journal, CBS News, and The Guardian. Machado, who had been living in hiding fearing arrest by the Nicolás Maduro regime, embarked on a journey that reportedly included wearing a wig as a disguise and navigating through at least ten military checkpoints within Venezuela. She then undertook a perilous sea voyage in a wooden fishing skiff through rough Caribbean waters to Curaçao, a former Dutch colony. The escape, which took approximately 15 to 16 hours by sea, was coordinated with the assistance of the U.S. and an American private rescue team, the Grey Bull Rescue Foundation, led by U.S. special forces veteran Bryan Stern. After reaching Curaçao, Machado boarded a private jet to Norway. While she arrived too late to personally accept the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 2025, her daughter received it on her behalf. Machado was awarded the prize 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 release of footage showcasing this dramatic escape has further brought international attention to the political repression in Venezuela and Machado's defiant stance against the Maduro government. Machado herself acknowledged the immense danger, stating there was a "real risk to my life" during the escape. The event underscores the critical challenges faced by opposition figures in Venezuela and resonates globally as a testament to the pursuit of democracy against authoritarian rule.