Miss Universe hides behind veil of silence .
Kieran Murray
LAS CRUCES , N.M. 1996-08-22
Miss Universe , Venezuela 's Alicia Machado , left New Mexico on Thursday , refusing to answer questions about her weight or claims she was told to either go on a crash diet or give up her title .
Machado , 19 , flew to Los Angeles after slipping away from the New Mexico desert town of Las Cruces , where she attended the 1996 Miss Teen USA pageant on Wednesday .
While Machado was not a contestant here , she came under intense scrutiny following reports she was given an ultimatum by Los Angeles-based Miss Universe Inc. to drop 27 pounds ( 12 kg ) in two weeks or risk losing her crown .
In Venezuela , her mother told Reuters that Machado had a swollen face when she left home two weeks ago because she had her wisdom teeth extracted .
Marta Fajardo insisted her daughter , who weighed 112 pounds ( 51 kg ) when she won the Miss Universe title in Las Vegas in May , had perfectly normal eating habits .
" Everybody has their own addiction to something or other but it 's not as if she eats cakes like crazy , " she said .
Organisers flatly denied ever threatening Machado but immediately put her under wraps and blocked access to her .
Dressed in a black strapless evening gown at Wednesday 's pageant , Machado was clearly heavier than the contestants but still won rave reviews after her brief appearance on stage .
" Are you kidding ?
She 's fantastic , " said Nikki Campbell , 28 , who went to the pageant . "
She looked great .
Very sexy . "
Machado 's publicists said on Thursday she was scheduled to stay in Los Angeles for promotional work with sponsors before returning to Venezuela on Sept .
5 .
Beauty queens are high-profile personalities in Venezuela and Machado 's alleged weight problem made front page news this week .
It was an official of the Miss Venezuela Organisation who first said Machado had been told to lose weight fast .
People close to her said she then eased up on her diet and indulged her passion for pasta and cake , but it was not clear how many pounds she gained and most people who saw her said she was still a long way from being fat .
Martin Brooks , president of Miss Universe Inc , said he spoke with Machado to assure her that organisers were not putting pressure on her .
" She 's fine with it .
She wished , as we all did , that it had n't happened but she 's spiritually and mentally terrific .
There 's no problem whatsoever , " he told Reuters .
He said the lifestyle associated with being Miss Universe could make routine exercise difficult .
" The problem is they travel so much and are so busy that the ability to have any type of regimented routine workout does n't exist .
I dont know if Alicia is working out .
We have n't talked about it because it has n't been an issue , " he said .