Opposition leader María Corina Machado sent a message of thanks to the Norwegian Nobel Committee on behalf of the Venezuelan people, as she confirmed that she was on her way to Oslo to collect the Peace Prize in person, albeit late.

Breaking a silence that had encouraged days of speculation about her movements, Machado recorded a voice message as she boarded a plane en route to the Norwegian capital expressing gratitude “for this immense recognition of our people’s struggle for democracy and freedom.”

“There are many things we had to go through, and so many people who risked their lives so that I could get to Oslo,” she said in the recording, posted on the Nobel website Wednesday. “I am very grateful to them. And this is a measure of what this recognition means to the Venezuelan people.”

Machado, who lives in hiding in Venezuela, leads the resistance to President Nicolás Maduro’s autocratic rule. Leaving the country would risk not being allowed back in, effectively banishing her into exile. Her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa Machado, accepted the award on her behalf in Oslo Wednesday, saying that her mother would be in Oslo in “hours.”

The Nobel Institute, in a statement, didn’t specify where she was or why she’d be late, but said that hers is “a journey in a situation of extreme danger.”

Machado had “done everything in her power to come to the ceremony,” the Institute said. “We are profoundly happy to confirm that she is safe and that she will be with us in Oslo.”

As well as family members, Machado was represented by the leaders of Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay and Panama. Argentine President Javier Milei and his Latin American counterparts are due to meet with Norway’s King Harald and Norwegian Premier Jonas Gahr Store.

Speculation surrounded Machado’s presence from the moment she was announced as this year’s winner back in October. The Nobel Committee had said she was due to attend, but a planned press conference with the laureate in Oslo on Tuesday was postponed and then canceled.

Her movement did little to quell the speculation, perhaps in a bid to confuse the Venezuelan authorities. Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino posted a comment on social media from Oslo Tuesday saying that he had Machado’s dress for the occasion in his hotel room.

Machado was awarded the Peace Prize for her “tireless work promoting democratic rights” and “her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”

The Nobel Committee’s decision to recognize Machado has been contentious since she has voiced support for the U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean and President Donald Trump’s threats of force to remove Maduro.

A small demonstration took place late on Tuesday, prompting Maduro to thank those “who took to the streets by the thousands” to support peace. The organizers of a traditional peace procession to coincide with the Nobel award withdrew this year, saying the choice of Machado wasn’t in line with its values.

In an unusually political speech, Jørgen Watne Frydnes, who chairs the Norwegian Nobel Committee, defended the opposition’s victory in last year’s election, and criticized those who find fault with their means.

“If you only support people who share your political views, you have understood neither freedom nor democracy,” he said, going on to call on Maduro to “accept the results and leave power.”

Machado’s international affairs coordinator, Pedro Urruchurtu, acknowledged the controversy, telling a Human Rights Foundation event in Oslo on Tuesday that it was worth allying with Trump to achieve the goal of a transition to the forces of democracy after the long years of struggle since Hugo Chavez came to power in 1999.

“I am sure this is the best opportunity we have had in 26 years to dismantle this regime,” Urruchurtu said.

In her recording, Machado said she was aware that “hundreds of Venezuelans from different parts of the world” were in Oslo for the occasion, as are her family, team, and colleagues.

“Since this is an award for all Venezuelans, I believe it will be received by them,” she said. “Soon, when I arrive, I will be able to hug my family and my children, whom I haven’t seen in two years, and so many Venezuelans and Norwegians who I know share our efforts.”

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—With assistance from Stephen Treloar, Anton Wilen, Veronica Ek and Charles Daly.

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