Nobel Peace Prize Winner Made Sure Trump 'Would Not Blow' Her Up While She Traveled to Receive Award... as Prez Faces Backlash Over Attacks on Alleged Drug Boats
María Corina Machado asked Donald Trump to not 'blow up' her boat as she secretly traveled to Oslo to collect her Nobel Peace Prize.
Dec. 11 2025, Published 7:00 p.m. ET
Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado is said to have informed Donald Trump to promise the U.S. military would not "blow up" her boat as she traveled to collect her award, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The Venezuelan opposition leader's request comes as the Trump administration faced intense scrutiny over lethal strikes on fishing boats suspected of smuggling drugs.
Machado's Risky Plan
María Corina Machado spent two months planning her voyage from Venezuela to Oslo.
Despite winning the prestigious award, which Trump, 79, shamelessly campaigned for, Machado, 58, couldn't simply hop on a plane to collect her prize as she's been barred from leaving the country by President Nicolás Maduro's brutal regime.
Still determined to make it to Oslo so she could receive the honor in person, Machado reportedly spent two months planning the risky, multi-step journey to Norway, which included donning disguises to avoid being detected leaving the country.
While Machado prepared for the trip, which included passing through 10 military checkpoints, there was a heightened concern that the U.S., not Maduro's regime, would launch an attack on her boat.
Trump Was 'Aware' of Machado's Plan
A source said Machado's team contacted the White House and asked their boat be spared as it traveled across the Caribbean.
After weighing the risks, a source close to the situation said a decision was made to contact the White House and ask the president to leave their ship alone.
"We coordinated that she was going to leave by a specific area so that they would not blow up the boat," the source told The Wall Street Journal.
While details on the level of the White House's involvement remain unclear at this time, a separate source confirmed the Trump administration was "aware" of Machado's voyage.
The source alleged Machado was helped by a private contractor in Curacao supplied by the Trump administration.
According to reports, Machado's plan included assistance from two supporters. She disguised her appearance and wore a wig to pass through military checkpoints on her way to a tiny fishing village off the Venezuelan coast.
There, she climbed into a wooden Skipper boat and sailed across the Caribbean Sea to Curacao, the same stretch of water where at least 80 people have been killed in U.S. strikes within the last three months.
Flight tracking data reveal the U.S. Navy dispatched a pair of F-18 fighter jets into the Gulf of Venezuela, where they circled for about 40 minutes as the boat sailed across the open water.
Machado Arrives in Oslo
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Machado's journey comes as the Trump administration faces scrutiny over strikes on Venezuelan fishing boats suspects of smuggling drugs.
Upon arriving in Curacao, the source claimed Machado contacted a private contractor supplied by the Trump administration who specialized in extractions.
As the journey from Venezuela to the small island took about 10 hours, the insider said Machado checked into a hotel to rest for the next part of her trip.
She left the island on a private jet, which made a brief stop in Bangor, Maine, on its way to Oslo. Before getting on the flight, she recorded a message thanking the "many people (who) risked their lives" to pull off the plan.
Machado safely arrived in Norway on Wednesday, just narrowly missing the official ceremony.
