OSLO, October 10, 2025 (Agencies): Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who has been in hiding since a disputed election last year, has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for keeping “the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced Friday in Oslo.
Machado was honored for her tireless efforts to promote democratic rights in Venezuela and her “struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.” The committee hailed her as “one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times.”
Born in Caracas in 1967, Machado trained as an industrial engineer before entering politics. In 2002, she founded Súmate, a volunteer organization that promotes political rights and monitors elections. She has long described her mission as promoting “ballots over bullets.”
Machado reacted with emotion when informed of the award, saying, “Oh my god… I have no words,” after receiving the committee’s call in the middle of the night.
While the White House criticized the Nobel Committee for not recognizing former U.S. President Donald Trump’s peacemaking efforts, Trump himself praised Machado earlier this year for “peacefully expressing the voices and the WILL of the Venezuelan people.”
In her acceptance statement, Machado called the award an “impetus” for Venezuelans to continue their push for democratic change. “We are on the threshold of victory, and today more than ever we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the people of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our main allies in achieving freedom and democracy. Venezuela will be free!” she declared.
Tensions between Washington and Caracas have intensified in recent weeks. CNN has reported that Trump is pursuing a broad strategy to weaken President Nicolás Maduro’s grip on power, according to sources briefed on U.S. administration plans.