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María Corina Machado awarded 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her advocacy of Venezuelan democracy

Maria Corina Machado Awarded 2025 Nobel Peace Prize

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, recognizing her for “her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela” and “her struggle for a fair and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy,” reports 24brussels.

Machado, 58, has lived in hiding for nearly a year due to political persecution by the government of Nicolás Maduro, making her the first Venezuelan to receive this prestigious honor. “As a leader of the democratic movement in Venezuela, María Corina Machado stands as one of the most extraordinary examples of civil courage in Latin America in recent times,” stated Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Nobel Committee, during the announcement.

The committee emphasized Machado’s critical role in uniting Venezuela’s historically fragmented opposition, attributing to her the success in creating a consolidated front advocating for free elections and a representative government.

The daughter of a prominent steel entrepreneur, Machado was the leading figure in the opposition during the 2024 presidential elections but faced disqualification by the pro-government Comptroller General. In the October 2023 opposition primaries, she secured an overwhelming 92.5% of the vote, solidifying her position as a key opposition leader.

After the contested July 2024 elections, which drew widespread condemnation from the international community, Venezuela’s Attorney General launched an investigation into Machado, alleging her support for U.S. sanctions against the Maduro regime. Consequently, she has remained in secrecy, with a brief return in January during protests against Maduro’s inauguration.

In a statement following the announcement, Machado declared, “This award is not for me, but for all Venezuelans who continue to believe in freedom and democracy despite repression.”

The Nobel Peace Prize, awarded annually since 1901, recognizes individuals or organizations for exceptional contributions to promoting peace and fraternity among nations. In 2024, the honor was bestowed upon Nihon Hidankyo, Japan’s national association of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki.