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Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.
Machado, 58, was lauded by the Nobel Committee as “one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times.” She has been a vocal critic of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Moros, whose 12-year tenure is widely viewed as illegitimate.
“This immense recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is an impetus to conclude our task: to conquer Freedom,” Machado stated following the announcement.
Among those not selected for the award was former US President Donald Trump, who has openly expressed his desire to receive the prestigious honor, citing seven wars he claims to have ended.
Nominations for the award closed in January. A White House official responded to the announcement, stating that the “Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace.”
CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, reports that Trump contacted Machado to offer his congratulations, stating that she deserves the award.
In announcing the recipient at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo on Friday, the committee cautioned that “democracy is in retreat” globally.
Machado, who has spent much of the past year living in hiding, was recognized for “her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy,” according to Nobel chairman Jørgen Watne Frydnes.
He added that she has been a “key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided… in a brutal authoritarian state that is now suffering a humanitarian and economic crisis.”
“Despite serious threats against her life, she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions.”
Responding to the Nobel Committee’s announcement, Machado stated, “We are on the threshold of victory, and today more than ever we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our main allies to achieve Freedom and democracy.”
“Venezuela will be free!”
Machado initially expressed shock at receiving the award, stating in a separate video message that it was the “achievement of a whole society.”
“I am just one person. I certainly do not deserve this,” she added.
Machado, a long-respected voice within the Venezuelan opposition, was barred from participating in last year’s presidential elections, in which Maduro secured a third six-year term.
The elections were widely condemned internationally as neither free nor fair, triggering widespread protests throughout the country.
Despite being barred from the polls, she successfully united the historically fractured opposition and rallied millions of Venezuelans behind Edmundo González, the relatively unknown candidate who replaced her on the ballot.
Even after the government-controlled National Electoral Council declared Maduro the victor, despite polling station tallies indicating a landslide victory for González, Machado continued her campaign from hiding, facing repeated threats of arrest from the Maduro government.
González remarked on social media that the prize was “well-deserved recognition for the long struggle of a woman and of an entire people for our freedom and democracy.”
Frydnes criticized Venezuela’s leadership during a press conference following the announcement, noting that the committee observed similar trends emerging globally.
“[The] rule of law [is] abused by those in control, free media [is] silenced, critics [are] imprisoned, and societies [are] pushed towards authoritarian rule and militarisation,” he stated.
He expressed hope that Machado would be able to attend the award ceremony in Oslo in December, while acknowledging the serious security risks involved.
According to the Nobel Committee, there were 338 candidates nominated for this year’s peace prize, although the nominees’ identities will remain confidential for 50 years, in accordance with tradition.
Trump has repeatedly stated his belief that he deserves the award, declaring on one occasion that “everyone says I should get it.”
Several world leaders, including Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, who publicly disclosed a nomination letter during a visit to the White House, as well as the governments of Pakistan and Azerbaijan, supported his nomination, despite the nomination period closing in January at the start of Trump’s second term.
When asked whether pressure from the US president and some in the international community to award Trump the prize influenced the committee’s deliberations, Frydnes stated that there had been numerous campaigns and “media tension” throughout the “long history” of the Nobel Peace Prize.
“We base our decision only on the work and the will of Alfred Nobel,” he affirmed.
Reacting to Friday’s announcement, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung posted on X that the “Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace.”
“President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives.”
“He has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will,” Cheung added.
The Nobel Prize, divided into six categories, recognizes the work of individuals or organizations that have contributed “the greatest benefit to humankind.”
Frydnes concluded that Machado met “all the criteria” established by Nobel for the prize and “embodies hope for the future.”
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