Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday to honor her courageous resistance against domestic authoritarian rule. Machado, 58, an industrial engineer, has been renowned for her opposition to the current president, Nicolas Maduro, who has been in power since 2013. Despite being prohibited from running for president by the Venezuelan court in 2024, she shifted her focus to support the alternative candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee emphasized in the award citation, “Recognizing those brave individuals who rise up and resist when dictators hold power is crucial.” During Maduro’s 12-year rule, Venezuela has endured profound economic and social crises. Despite international calls for Maduro to step down and the increased US bounty for his arrest, he was sworn in for a third term in office in January of this year.
In the process of Machado’s resistance, several members of her inner circle have faced arrests. This includes her security chief during the election campaign, among others. Additionally, six team members sought refuge at the Argentine embassy after arrest warrants were issued by the prosecutor. Machado herself is currently living in hiding.
The committee released a phone recording of Machado’s reaction to the news of her award, where she expressed surprise, saying, “Oh my God… I am speechless.” She added, “I do not deserve this award.”
Machado is the first Venezuelan citizen to win the Nobel Peace Prize and the sixth recipient from Latin America. Joergen Watne Frydnes, the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, expressed his hope that this award would inspire the work of the Venezuelan opposition.
Frydnes told Reuters, “We hope that the entire opposition will gain new momentum and continue to strive for a peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.” Juanita Goebertus Estrada, the Americas director of the Human Rights Watch organization, believes that this award will increase international pressure on the Maduro government.
The Nobel Committee acknowledged that it is currently unclear if Machado will be able to attend the award ceremony on December 10th in Oslo. If she is unable to attend, she will join the list of prize recipients who have been prevented from attending the Peace Prize ceremony in history.
Since his return to the White House in January, US President Trump has received multiple nominations for the Nobel Prize, especially after his mediation in achieving a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has openly supported Trump’s nomination.
While Trump’s mediation work is commendable, the deadline for Nobel Peace Prize nominations is annually on January 31st. Worth mentioning is that Trump had publicly supported Machado, who was under house arrest in January, calling her a “freedom fighter.”
The total prize money for the Nobel Peace Prize is 11 million Swedish Kronor (approximately 1.2 million US dollars) and will be awarded in Oslo on December 10th.