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María Corina Machado, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, has expressed her gratitude to former U.S. President Donald Trump for his global efforts “around the world for peace,” in a recent interview with the BBC.
Machado, a prominent Venezuelan opposition leader, was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her long-standing advocacy against President Nicolás Maduro Moros, whose 12-year tenure has been widely criticized as illegitimate.
Speaking to BBC Mundo, Machado recounted a congratulatory phone call with Trump, stating she conveyed “how grateful the Venezuelan people are for what he’s doing, not only in the Americas, but around the world for peace, for freedom, for democracy.”
Trump has previously voiced his aspiration to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, often mentioning the seven wars he claims to have ended.
Nominations for the award concluded in January, coinciding with the commencement of Trump’s second presidential term. A White House official commented on Friday that the “Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace” in their selection process.
Machado stated she was “very glad” to have spoken with the former U.S. president and was “able to convey to him our appreciation.”
The Nobel Committee lauded the 58-year-old Machado, who has spent much of the past year in hiding, as “one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times.”
Nobel chairman Jørgen Watne Frydnes noted her recognition was for “her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
Frydnes added, “Despite serious threats against her life, she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions.”
Machado was barred from participating in last year’s presidential elections, in which Maduro secured a third six-year term.
The international community widely discredited the elections as neither free nor fair, leading to widespread protests across Venezuela.
Despite her disqualification, Machado managed to unite the historically fragmented opposition and successfully rallied millions of Venezuelans behind Edmundo González, the relatively unknown candidate who replaced her on the ballot.
When the government-controlled National Electoral Council declared Maduro the victor, despite polling station tallies indicating González’s landslide victory, Machado continued her campaign from hiding, facing repeated threats of arrest from the Maduro government.
Machado told BBC Mundo that her award served as “like an injection” for her political movement.
“It infuses energy, hope, strength on the Venezuelan people because we realise that we are not alone,” she added. “The democrats around the world share our struggle.”
She expressed her belief that Trump and the international community were already contributing to addressing the political situation in Venezuela.
“The regime in Venezuela is a criminal structure,” Machado told the BBC. “And as such, it sustains themselves on the criminal flows from their illicit activities.”
“We need the international community to cut those flows that are not only used for corruption, but also for repression, violence and terror.”
“So when you cut the inflows that come from drug trafficking, gold smuggling, arms smuggling, human trafficking, or the black market of oil, then the regime falls.”
“And that’s exactly what we’re seeing, cracks that are getting deeper and deeper as we talk right now.”
Earlier this month, U.S. forces killed four individuals in an attack on a boat off the Venezuelan coast, allegedly involved in drug trafficking.
This was the latest in a series of U.S. strikes on vessels in international waters, which the U.S. claims were engaged in “narco-trafficking.”
These actions have drawn criticism from countries including Venezuela and Colombia, with some international legal experts suggesting the strikes may violate international law.
On Thursday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro stated one of the boats was “Colombian with Colombian citizens inside,” an allegation the White House has dismissed as “baseless.”
Twelve others were injured in the incident, which happened at around midnight.
The 18 people unaccounted for after the blast at a Tennessee munitions factory are presumed dead, say officials.
More than 4,000 workers across seven agencies will receive notices that their jobs are being cut, the government disclosed in a court filing.
The 82-year-old former US president – who was diagnosed with an aggressive prostate cancer in May – is also getting hormone treatment.
“There’s nothing to describe, it’s gone,” says Humphreys County Sheriff Mike Davis.
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