Nobel Peace Prize Awarded to Venezuelan Opposition Leader

The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Venezuelan politician and opposition leader María Corina Machado.

A highly influential figure in Venezuelan politics, Machado is being recognized for leading the struggle for democracy in the face of authoritarianism.

The Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo describes Machado as “a brave and committed champion of peace” and “a woman who keeps the flame of democracy burning amidst a growing darkness.”

Institute director Kristian Berg Harpviken was in tears when he called Machado with news of the award today.

“I have no words,” she responded. “This is a movement, this is an achievement of a whole society, I am just one person.”

Machado’s distinction comes amid the backdrop of Venezuela’s most recent election, whose legitimacy international monitors have questioned. After Maduro was declared the winner in 2024, Human Rights Watch said the electoral process in Venezuela was severely flawed, citing “arrests of opposition members, arbitrary disqualifications of opposition candidates and efforts to further restrict civic space.”

In 2002, Machado co-founded the election monitoring group Súmate. She was later elected to Venezuela’s National Assembly in 2010. However, in 2014, the regime stripped her from her seat in what is criticized internationally as a politically motivated move.

Long-time critic of Venezuela’s United Socialist Party, Machado has accused the party of being a “government based on violence.”

Machado planned to run against incumbent president Nicolás Maduro in 2024, but was disqualified ahead of elections after arrest warrants were issued for three of her staffers in connection to an alleged plot to sabotage a referendum on territorial disputes with Guyana.

Machado disputed the ban, but without any hearings, it was upheld by Venezuelan Courts. She later endorsed opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia and campaigned with him.

Several countries, including the United States, did not recognize Venezuela’s 2024 election results.

According to a United Nations report, the country’s national electoral council “fell short of the basic transparency and integrity measures that are essential to holding credible elections.”

Since the election, Maduro’s government is reported to have killed, tortured and detained those seeking democratic change. Amnesty International says at least 24 people died as a result of the government’s repression of protests against the appointment of Nicolás Maduro.

Machado became a symbol of resistance to those who opposed the regime.

“She has brought her country’s opposition together,” said Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. “She has never wavered in resisting the militarisation of Venezuelan society. She has been steadfast in her support for a peaceful transition to democracy.”

“This recognition reflects the clear aspirations of the people of Venezuela for free and fair elections, for civil and political rights and for the rule of law,” the United Nations Human Rights Office said in a statement. 

The Nobel Committee wasn’t able to confirm if Machado would be present at December’s award ceremony in Oslo because she’s been in hiding for the past year, calling it a “serious security situation” given Venezuela’s politically fraught climate.

Eduardo Gamarra, professor of political science at Florida International University, compares Machado to Narges Mohammadi, the jailed Iranian political activist who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023. “These are largely women who, in the midst of enormous odds, were relentless in their battle for democracy,” he says.

In his announcement, Frydnes warned against the rise of authoritarianism. “Democracy is a precondition for lasting peace. However, we live in a world where democracy is in retreat, where more and more authoritarian regimes are challenging norms and resorting to violence.”

Machado dedicated the prize to the people of Venezuela in a phone call with the Nobel Institute: “I believe that we are very close to achieving, finally, freedom for our country and peace for the region.”