Venezuelan opposition leader Maria CorinaMachado has won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts defending democratic rights amid authoritarian rule. The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the award on October 10, 2025 in Oslo, citing her “tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
The Nobel Committee praised Machado’s resistance against Venezuela’s authoritarian drift under President Nicolás Maduro. Her recognition comes despite her being barred from running for president in 2024 and currently living in hiding under threat of arrest.
Kristian Berg Harpviken, secretary of the Nobel Committee, said he had spoken with Machado by phone shortly before the announcement. “She said it was overwhelming and that this was a prize for a whole movement,” he told reporters.
Her exclusion from Venezuela’ 2024 presidential race was imposed by the country’s courts, which prevented her from challenging Maduro. In response, she backed Edmundo González as an alternative candidate and mobilised large crowds for his campaign.
Her movement has faced heavy repression: several of her close aides have been arrested, and six members of her team sought refuge in the Argentine embassy after arrest warrants were issued.
Halvard Leira, research director at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, said the prize showed the committee’s independence and its refusal to be swayed by political lobbying.
Machado, an industrial engineer by training, was born October 7, 1967 in Caracas. She became a member of Venezuela’s National Assembly from 2011 to 2014 and is national coordinator of the political party Vente Venezuela. Over time she gained prominence as one of the most vocal critics of Maduro’s government.
In 2023, she won more than 90% of the opposition primary vote to be the unity candidate for the 2024 election, but was politically disqualified before the election. She has also been awarded the 2024 Sakharov Prize and the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize.
She is the first Venezuelan to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, and the sixth laureate from Latin America.
As of now, it is uncertain whether Machado will be able to leave Venezuela or appear in person for the December 10 Nobel ceremony in Oslo. Her award may amplify calls for free and fair elections in Venezuela, increase international pressure on the Maduro government, and provide moral support to opposition forces.
The Nobel Committee’s decision may also be viewed in contrast to the ambitions of U.S. President Donald Trump, who had repeatedly claimed he deserved the prize. Observers suggest the choice reaffirms the committee’s autonomy in prize selection.
Africa Digital News, New York
