CARACAS (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado indicated that she plans to return to Venezuela regardless of whether President Nicolás Maduro is overthrown or not, and noted that her government is at its weakest point due to the “decisive” measures of US President Donald Trump.

Machado's statements to journalists came hours after she appeared in public for the first time in 11 months after her arrival in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, where his daughter received the Nobel Peace Prize on his behalf on Wednesday.

“I think President Trump's actions have been instrumental in getting us to where we are now, where the regime is significantly weaker,” he told reporters. “Because before, the regime thought it had impunity... Now they are beginning to understand that this is serious and that the world is watching.”

However, the opposition leader avoided answering questions about whether a US military intervention is necessary to remove Maduro from power. He told journalists that he will return to Venezuela “when we think the conditions are conducive in terms of security and will not depend on whether or not the regime leaves.”

Machado arrived in Oslo hours after Wednesday's awards ceremony and made his first public appearance in 11 months early Thursday, appearing on a hotel balcony and waving to an excited crowd of fans. She had been hiding since January 9, when she was briefly detained after joining supporters at a protest in Caracas.

Machado left Venezuela at a critical moment in the country's prolonged crisis, with the Trump administration carrying out a deadly military operation in the Caribbean and repeatedly threatening to attack Venezuelan soil. The White House has indicated that the operation, which has killed 80 people, aims to stop the flow of drugs into the United States.

But many, including analysts, members of the US Congress and Maduro himself, see the operation as an effort to overthrow him. The opposition has only added to this perception by rekindling its promise to soon govern the country.

On Thursday, Machado called on governments to expand their support for the Venezuelan opposition beyond words.

“We, the Venezuelan people who have tried all institutional means, ask for support from the democratic nations of the world to cut off those resources that come from illegal activities and support repressive approaches,” he said. “And that is why we are certainly asking the world to act. It's not a matter of statements, as they say, it's a matter of action."

Machado, 58, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October after posing the most serious peaceful challenge in years to Maduro's authoritarian government. Her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, accepted the award at a ceremony in Oslo.

On Thursday morning, Machado was received by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, who indicated that his country is ready to support a democratic Venezuela to “build new and solid institutions.”

When asked if the Venezuelan government would have known her whereabouts since January, Machado told reporters: “I don't think they would have known where I have been, and they certainly would have done everything to prevent me from getting here.”

The opposition leader declined to give details of how she got to Norway, but thanked “all those men and women who risked their lives so that I could be here today” and later acknowledged that the US government helped her.

Tracking data from Flights showed that the plane Machado arrived on flew to Oslo from Bangor, Maine.

Machado won an opposition primary and had intended to challenge Maduro in last year's presidential election, but the government barred him from running. Retired diplomat Edmundo González took his place.

In the run-up to the July 28, 2024 elections, there was widespread repression, including disqualifications, arrests and human rights violations. That increased after the country's National Electoral Council, made up of people close to Maduro, declared the president the winner.

González sought asylum in Spain last year after a Venezuelan court issued an arrest warrant against him.

It is unclear when and how Machado and González could return to Venezuela. An opposition plan to have González return before the January 10 ceremony that gave Maduro another mandate did not materialize.

Machado, accompanied by the Norwegian prime minister, stated that “we decided to fight to the end and Venezuela will be free” and that, if the Maduro government is still in power when he returns, “I will certainly be with my people and they will not know where I am. We have ways to do that and take care of ourselves.”

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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.