Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado's daughter accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her mother's behalf on Wednesday, hours after officials said Machado would miss the ceremony in Oslo.

Machado has been in hiding and has not been seen in public since January 9, when she was briefly detained after joining supporters in a protest in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital.

Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee, told the award ceremony that “María Corina Machado has done everything in her power to be able to attend the ceremony here today — a journey in a situation of extreme danger.”

“Although she will not be able to reach this ceremony and today's events, we are profoundly happy to confirm that she is safe, and that she will be with us here in Oslo,” he said to applause.

In a speech delivered by her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, Machado said Venezuelans had shown that they are willing to fight for freedom.

Prominent Latin American figures attended the ceremony in a sign of solidarity with Machado, including Argentine President Javier Milei, Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa, Panama's President José Raúl Mulino and Paraguayan President Santiago Peña. (AFP, AP)