Venezuelan Leader Maria Corina Machado Awarded Nobel Peace Prize 2025

Venezuela's Maria Corina Machado has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in promoting democracy and fighting dictatorship in her country. The former opposition presidential candidate was lauded for being a 'key, unifying figure' against the 'brutal' Venezuelan state.

Leading up to the big announcement, there had been speculation of the prize going to Donald Trump, fuelled in part by the US President himself, amplified by this week's approval of his plan for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

However, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said that Machado was being lauded for being a "key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided - an opposition that found common ground in the demand for free elections and representative government."

"In the past year, Machado has been forced to live in hiding. Despite serious threats against her life, she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions. When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognise courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist," he added.

Machado is a key figure in Venezuela's pro-democracy movement. In recent years, she has emerged as a powerful symbol of civilian courage in Latin America.

For decades, Machado has defied the repressive regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. She has faced threats, arrests, and political persecution.

Machado was set to run against Maduro in the last elections, but the government disqualified her.

Edmundo Gonzalez, who had never run for office before, took her place. The lead-up to the election saw widespread repression, including disqualifications, arrests and human rights violations. The crackdown on dissent only increased after the country's National Electoral Council, which is stacked with Maduro loyalists, declared him the winner despite credible evidence to the contrary.

The election results sparked protests across the country, to which the government responded with force, resulting in the deaths of more than 20 people. They also prompted an end to diplomatic relations between Venezuela and various foreign countries, including Argentina.

Machado went into hiding and has not been seen in public since January. A Venezuelan court issued an arrest warrant for Gonzalez, who moved to Spain and was granted asylum.

About Nobel Peace Prize

The peace prize is the only one of the annual Nobel prizes to be awarded in Oslo, Norway. Last year's award went to Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement of Japanese atomic bombing survivors who have worked for decades to maintain a taboo around the use of nuclear weapons.