Venezuelan opposition leader and democracy campaigner María Corina Machado has won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, recognised for her “tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela” and her “struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
Announcing the award in Oslo on Friday, the Norwegian Nobel Committee hailed Machado as “one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times.”
“This award goes to a woman who has kept the flame of democracy alive amid growing darkness,” said committee chairman Jørgen Watne Frydnes. “She has shown that the tools of democracy are also tools for peace.”
Machado, who has been in hiding since August 2024, was barred from contesting Venezuela’s disputed presidential election that year, which international observers widely condemned as neither free nor fair. Despite being disqualified, her movement inspired massive rallies nationwide in support of opposition candidate Edmundo González, who was also later disqualified by President Nicolás Maduro’s government.
Following the election, which many believe was rigged in Maduro’s favour, Machado wrote from hiding in The Wall Street Journal that she had proof the opposition had won and accused the government of “stealing the people’s mandate.”
The Nobel Committee said it was aware of the risks Machado faces but believed the award would strengthen her cause rather than endanger it.
The announcement also dealt a blow to U.S. President Donald Trump, who had mounted a public campaign to win the Peace Prize during his second term. Asked about political pressure, Frydnes replied that the committee’s decision was guided solely by “the will of Alfred Nobel.”
“Democracy is a precondition for lasting peace,” Frydnes said. “In honouring María Corina Machado, we honour all who fight oppression with courage and conviction.”
Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize will be formally presented in Oslo, Norway, in December 2025, though it remains uncertain whether she will be able to attend due to continuing threats to her safety.
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