Nobel Peace Prize presented to Venezuela’s María Corina Machado for keeping ‘the spark of democracy burning’

María Corina Machado, a Venezuelan opposition leader who has been in exile since a disputed election last year, has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for keeping “the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness.”

Machado won the recognition for relentlessly advancing democratic rights in Venezuela and “for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said Friday, announcing the award at a ceremony in Oslo.

Born in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, in 1967, Machado was educated as an industrial engineer before joining politics. In 2002, she founded Súmate, a volunteer organization dedicated to promoting political rights and monitoring elections.

Machado has defined her life’s work as pushing “ballots over bullets.” The Nobel committee recognized her as “one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times.”

“Oh my god … I have no words,” Machado said after being woken in the middle of the night by a phone call from the committee to tell her she had won the prize.

In a statement receiving the honor, Machado said the medal belonged to the people of Venezuela.

“It is a recognition of what we have achieved together and a reminder of what remains,” she added, adding that it should work as a spur for Venezuelans to finish their mission of obtaining independence.

Although the White House lambasted the Nobel committee for neglecting the peacemaking efforts of Donald Trump, who has long openly wanted the award, the US president commended Machado in January for “peacefully expressing the voices and the WILL of the Venezuelan people.”

Machado told El País newspaper that she talked with Trump on Friday. Although she didn’t describe what they discussed, she stated that Venezuelans are “deeply grateful” to the president.

Earlier, she publicly praised him on social media “for his decisive support of our cause.”

“We are on the threshold of victory, and today more than ever we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the people of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our main allies in achieving freedom and democracy. Venezuela will be free!” she wrote on X.

Tensions between the US and Venezuela have risen in recent weeks. CNN has previously reported that Trump is executing a comprehensive campaign geared at destabilizing President Nicolás Maduro, according to people informed on the administration’s intentions.

Machado’s labor has gotten increasingly challenging with time. Freedom House, a monitoring organization, claims Venezuela’s democratic institutions have deteriorated since 1999 and “have grown sharply worse in recent years” owing to an intense crackdown by the Maduro regime.

Machado tried to run against Maduro in the 2024 presidential election, but the dictatorship annulled her nomination. She subsequently moved her allegiance to the party of Edmundo González Urrutia. She worked to rally individuals and educate election monitors in an effort to ensure the vote was free and fair.

Both Maduro and González claimed victory following the elections. When Venezuela’s government-aligned election officials pronounced Maduro the victor, with 51.95% of the vote, opposition groups cried foul. Analysts noted “suspicious” data trends in the stated findings. One analyst said there was only a “one in 100 million chance that this particular pattern will occur by chance.”

After the election, Machado stated she could prove that Maduro had lost “in a landslide to Edmundo, 67% to 30%.” Writing in the Wall Street Journal, she stated her organization had “receipts obtained directly from more than 80% of the nation’s polling stations.”

The Nobel committee lauded Machado on Friday for making sure “the final tallies were documented before the regime could destroy the ballots and lie about the outcome.” At the time, the Biden administration likewise concluded that there was “overwhelming evidence” that Maduro lost the vote.

After announcing victory, the Maduro regime started to clamp down on the opposition. Human Rights Watch, a monitoring organization, warned this year that the government has “killed, tortured, detained, and forcefully disappeared people seeking democratic change.”

As a consequence, Machado has lived in hiding in Venezuela since last year, appearing briefly during demonstrations in January. Speaking to CNN from an undisclosed location in August 2024, Machado claimed the dictatorship had “lost total touch with reality and lost its social base,” enabling her movement – with little resources, and operating under heavy restrictions – to organize “millions of Venezuelans” devoted to democracy.

“Everyone in Venezuela is afraid of losing our freedom or even our lives,” she told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. “But above all, we are committed to making the truth prevail … and get a transition to democracy peacefully.”

Democracy, a ‘precondition’ for peace

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded annually to the person or group that has made the most significant contribution to achieving the objectives outlined in Alfred Nobel's will, the Swedish scientist whose wealth established the Nobel Prizes.

The will states the prize would be granted to “the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations and the abolition or reduction of standing armies and the formation and spreading of peace congresses.”

Jørgen Watne Frydnes, head of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said Machado had met the complete criterion.

“She has brought her country’s opposition together. She has never wavered in rejecting the militarization of Venezuelan society. She has been persistent in her support for a peaceful transition to democracy,” he said Friday.

González, Machado’s fellow opposition figure, said their movement is “very pleased” that the medal went to her.

“This prize recognizes peace, a fundamental element in our (2024) electoral campaign. During the campaign, we made peace the centerpiece of our aspirations, allowing for a calm and controlled transition. This is what this medal represents in the person of Maria Corina Machado, an upright, strong, and daring political figure.”

In selecting Machado as this year’s laureate, the committee highlighted its concerns about the state of democracy globally, according to Karim Haggag, head of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

“The Nobel Committee clearly chose to highlight democracy as a priority area, underscoring that this award comes at a time of global backsliding of democratic values and norms,” Haggag told CNN.

Nina Graeger, head of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, said Machado’s honor is “above all, a prize for democracy.”

“Research shows that democracy is an important precondition for peace. At an era when tyranny is on the increase around the globe, this prize underscores the heroism of people who fight for freedom with votes, not bullets,” she told CNN.

Analysts say the committee generally uses the award to convey a statement about areas of concern during the prior year. The 2024 medal went to Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots Japanese group of atomic bomb survivors, at a time when the world was once again facing the fear of nuclear weapons, amid Russia’s threats during its conflict in Ukraine.

‘Politics above peace’

Friday’s award came after a months-long campaign of self-promotion by US President Donald Trump, who repeatedly highlighted his belief that he had earned the medal for ending “unsolvable” conflicts during his second term.

Although Trump gained a big diplomatic triumph this week in establishing the first phase of a truce between Israel and Hamas, this likely came too late to sway the Nobel committee. Nominations for this year’s honor concluded on January 31, when Trump had only been in office for 11 days.

The White House nevertheless chastised the committee for snubbing Trump.

“President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives,” said communications director Steven Cheung. “The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had nominated Machado for the Peace Prize in 2024 when he was a US senator from Florida and when Venezuela was wracked by demonstrations after its disputed presidential election. “Her tireless struggle for a free and just Venezuela is an inspiration and will always be remembered,” he wrote on X then.

The award also comes at a time of escalating enmity between the United States and Venezuela, with the US Navy carrying out fatal attacks on boats off the coast of Venezuela, which the Trump administration has assessed to be “narco-trafficking” vessels.

The US has reportedly dispatched at least seven warships to the southern Caribbean and promised a $50 million prize for information leading to Maduro’s arrest. The Venezuelan president has faced official drug trafficking allegations from the Justice Department since 2020, which he rejects.

The Peace Prize comprises a financial reward of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million) and will be officially presented at a ceremony in Oslo in December.

Frydnes, the head of the committee, could not confirm if Machado would be able to attend.

“It’s a question of security. It’s too early to tell. We always wish to have the laureate with us in Oslo, but this is a severe security matter which has to be resolved first,” Frydnes said.

Source: CNN