Nobel laureate Machado 'injured' as she fled Venezuela

Maria Corina Machado
Maria Corina Machado reportedly fractured a vertebra while fleeing Venezuela ‍in rough weather. -AP

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado fractured a vertebra while fleeing Venezuela ‍on a small boat last week to receive the ​award in Oslo, a spokesperson for the opposition leader says, confirming a Norwegian media report.

Machado went to Norway in defiance of a decade-long travel ban imposed by authorities in her home country and after spending more than ‌a year ​in hiding but arrived too late for Wednesday's official ‍prize ceremony.

Doctors examining her in Oslo had since diagnosed a fracture in her back, Norwegian daily Aftenposten reported, citing anonymous sources.

The injury was sustained amid rough weather during ​the boat trip, according to the ‌report.

A spokesperson for Machado told Reuters the Aftenposten report was accurate but ​declined to give further details.

The laureate left Venezuela ‍by boat early last week and travelled to the Caribbean island of Curacao, from where she departed ​on ​a private plane ​via the United States to Norway, ​a person familiar with the matter previously told Reuters.

Machado has said she plans to return to Venezuela, and that her aim is to achieve a peaceful transition of government from President Nicolas Maduro.