Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado pulled off a dramatic escape from her homeland this week, dodging military checkpoints and braving a risky sea voyage, all to collect the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. Sporting a wig and disguise, Machado slipped out of a Caracas suburb where she'd been hiding for nearly a year and, with two aides, navigated through 10 military checkpoints on her way to a coastal village, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The group then crossed the Caribbean in a wooden fishing boat to Curacao, with the entire journey coordinated to avoid US military strikes that have sunk similar vessels suspected of drug smuggling. A person close to the operation said US forces were alerted to the escape plan, but the extent of the Trump administration's involvement is unclear. The Pentagon declined to comment to the Journal, as did the US Navy.
Machado's escape had been planned for months by a Venezuelan network that helps people get out of the country. After arriving in Curacao, Machado rested overnight before catching a private jet to Norway. The Nobel committee said it didn't know Machado's whereabouts as the awards ceremony began. Her daughter accepted the prize, promising that Machado would soon return to Venezuela.
Machado is expected to spend a few days recovering in Oslo before touring Europe to rally support for the Venezuelan opposition. "Freedom! Freedom!" the crowd outside her Oslo hotel chanted when they spotted her, per the AP. Machado told them, "I want you all back in Venezuela." Meanwhile, she tells CNN that, had the Venezuelan government known where she was hunkered down since January, they would "have done everything" to stop her from getting to Norway.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
