The decision by Maria Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader, to leave her homeland after more than a year in hiding has drastically raised the stakes in the unfolding stand-off over Venezuela’s future.

Machado said in an audio message published by the Nobel Peace Prize committee that she had left Venezuela for Oslo to participate in festivities surrounding the awarding of this year’s prize to her.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado reacts to the crowd gathered in front of the Grand Hotel, in Oslo, Norway.Credit: AP

The news thrust Machado into the global spotlight, electrified her movement and re-established her as a major player in an escalating game of brinkmanship between President Donald Trump and the Venezuelan leader, Nicolas Maduro.

Machado, 58, received the Peace Prize for mounting a victorious election campaign last year against Maduro, who ignored the results, declared himself the winner and repressed those who challenged his claim to power.

She missed the award ceremony on Wednesday, eventually arriving in Oslo in the middle of the night. On Thursday morning, she appeared in public for the first time in 11 months, waving to supporters from a hotel balcony before leaving the hotel to shake their hands.

Her appearance has added a dramatic twist to a powerful political narrative: the courageous Venezuelan opposition leader, recognised with one of the world’s most prestigious awards for her struggle for democracy, reunited with supporters during a........

© The Sydney Morning Herald