WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has filed a legal complaint against the Nobel Foundation, seeking to halt payments to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Assange argues that Machado's public support for US President Donald Trump's military actions against Venezuela runs counter to the core principles of the Peace Prize.
In a statement shared by WikiLeaks on X, the organisation said Assange is attempting to prevent the Nobel Foundation from releasing more than $1 million that Machado is set to receive as part of the award.
The complaint cites Alfred Nobel's will, which stipulates that the Peace Prize should be granted only to individuals who have "conferred the greatest benefit to humankind" by doing "the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."
Assange points to Machado's remarks in a recent television interview as evidence that she does not meet that standard. Appearing on CBS News' Face the Nation on Sunday, Machado openly endorsed Trump's hardline policies toward Venezuela, including intensified sanctions and the seizure of oil tankers.
"Look, I absolutely support President Trump's strategy, and we, the Venezuelan people, are very grateful to him and to his administration, because I believe he is a champion of freedom in this hemisphere," Machado said during the interview.
Trump's pressure campaign against Venezuela has included not only economic sanctions and tanker seizures but also the bombing of vessels alleged to be involved in drug trafficking.
Assange's complaint contends that Machado's enthusiastic backing of Trump, particularly after what he describes as an illegal bombing campaign at sea, provides sufficient grounds for the Nobel Foundation to suspend any financial disbursements linked to the prize.
"Alfred Nobel's endowment for peace cannot be spent on the promotion of war," Assange said, alleging that "Machado has continued to incite the Trump Administration to pursue its escalatory path" against Venezuela.
The filing further warns that Nobel funds awarded to Machado could be "diverted from their charitable purpose to facilitate aggression, crimes against humanity, and war crimes." If that were to occur, the complaint argues, Sweden could be in violation of its obligations under Article 25(3)(c) of the Rome Statute, which holds that anyone who "aids, abets, or otherwise assists" in the commission of war crimes may be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court.
"Because the accused are aware of Machado's incitement and endorsement of the US commission of international crimes, and knew or ought to have known that the disbursement of Nobel monies would contribute to extrajudicial killings of civilians and shipwrecked survivors at sea and are in breach of their obligation to cease disbursements," WikiLeaks said in a detailed update accompanying the complaint.
The legal challenge comes as Trump has intensified his actions against Venezuela. On Tuesday night, he announced what he described as a "total and complete blockade" of all "sanctioned oil tankers" attempting to enter or leave the country.
"Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before."
