Nobel Peace Prize Awarded to Venezuelan Opposition Leader Maria Corina Machado

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, recognised for her relentless fight to bring democracy back to a country torn apart by dictatorship, corruption, and state-led repression.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said she received the prize for her "tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy."

Machado, 58, has long been one of the most outspoken critics of President Nicolás Maduro’s regime, which has been widely condemned as authoritarian. Her political activism stretches back over two decades, starting with her work in Súmate, a group she co-founded to push for free and fair elections in Venezuela. "It was a choice of ballots over bullets," she once said, a motto that has defined her political journey ever since.

Her efforts have come at a tremendous personal cost. Blocked from running in the 2024 presidential election, forced into hiding due to threats to her life, and separated from her family, Machado hasn’t been seen in public since January. Despite this, she has stayed in the country, a decision the Nobel Committee called "a choice that has inspired millions of people."

The Committee described her as "one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times", adding that she has remained steadfast in her support for a peaceful transition despite Venezuela’s increasingly violent and repressive political environment.

In the 2024 election, when her own candidacy was banned, she threw her support behind Edmundo González Urrutia, a lesser-known figure. The opposition united, training hundreds of thousands of volunteers to act as election observers and safeguard the integrity of the vote. They gathered and documented vote tallies before the regime could interfere. Exit polls and opposition-released data pointed to a clear win for González—but Maduro refused to accept the result, claimed victory, and crushed post-election protests. González eventually fled to Spain. Machado, meanwhile, stayed behind.

When told she had won the Peace Prize, she reportedly said: "I am in shock... I cannot believe it." In a call with Nobel Institute director Kristian Berg Harpviken, she added, "We’re not there yet. We’re working very hard to achieve it, but I’m sure that we will prevail."

The Committee highlighted the dire situation in Venezuela, once a relatively wealthy democracy, now gripped by authoritarian rule and economic collapse. Millions have fled, and many who remain live in deep poverty, while elites grow richer. "The violent machinery of the state is directed against the country’s own citizens," the Committee said.

Machado’s leadership has helped unify Venezuela’s fragmented opposition and draw international attention to the regime's human rights abuses, electoral fraud, and suppression of dissent. Her peaceful and courageous resistance, the Committee said, stands as a global symbol of how democracy can survive—even under brutal repression.

While Machado’s win was widely praised, not everyone was happy. In the U.S., Donald Trump’s camp expressed disappointment, having lobbied heavily for the former president to receive the prize. Trump had claimed credit for several peace deals and once said, "everyone says that I should get the Nobel Peace Prize." His spokesperson, Steven Cheung, blasted the decision on X, writing: "The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace."

But Nobel officials stood by their choice. Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the committee, said the prize is meant to reward long-term efforts and that "peaceful resistance can change the world."

Machado herself has been humble about the recognition. Speaking after the announcement, she said: "This is certainly the biggest recognition to our people [who] certainly deserve it... I am just, you know, one person. I certainly do not deserve it." She may say that, but the Nobel Committee—and many around the world—would disagree. To them, her commitment to freedom, even while in hiding, embodies the very spirit of peace Alfred Nobel sought to honour.

Her win is not just a personal milestone. It’s a tribute to the millions of Venezuelans who continue to resist dictatorship with hope, courage, and an unwavering belief in democracy.