Machado hails Nobel Peace Prize as recognition of Venezuelan people’s struggle for freedom, US terms decision “politics” over “peace”

OSLO(Norway): Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado who was named on Friday as the recipient of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize said she was “humbled, grateful and honoured”, for the honour which said was a recognition of the Venezuelan people’s fight for democracy and peace.

In a conversation with Robin Hardy of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, 58-year-old Machado said she was still coming to terms with the announcement.

“I’m still processing. I think this is… what can I tell you? I mean, this is something that I believe the Venezuelan people deserve. I am just part of a huge movement and I don’t know, I’m humbled, I’m grateful and I’m honoured not only by this recognition, but I’m honoured to be part of what’s going on in Venezuela today and very grateful. Thank you,” she said.

Earlier in the day, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that the Prize would go to Machado for 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 as a “brave and committed champion of peace” who continues her activism despite threats from the regime of her country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, who has been in power since 2013.

“We want to send a message to all authoritarian leaders: choose ballots, not bullets,” Jorgen Watne Frydnes, Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee said adding, that “She is an extraordinary example of civilian courage.”

Born in Caracas in 1967 and trained as an industrial engineer with a masters in finance, Machado, a mother of three entered politics in 2002 as cofounder of the volunteer civil association called Sumate, which seeks to unite people amid polarisation under Nicolas Maduro’s rule.

In 2010 she was elected to the National Assembly, winning a record number of votes. The regime expelled her from office in 2014. Machado leads the Vente Venezuela opposition party and in 2017 helped found the Soy Venezuela alliance, which unites pro-democracy forces in the country across political dividing lines.

In 2023 she announced her candidacy for president in the 2024 presidential election. When she was blocked from running, she supported the opposition’s alternative candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. The opposition mobilised widely and collected systematic documentation that it was the true winner of the election. The regime declared victory and tightened its grip on power, according to the Nobel Prize committee.

Looking back at her struggle Machado said, “It has been a very long journey at a very high cost for Venezuelan society. For many years, the world didn’t realise how hard, how difficult, how painful and destructive this process had been. And when some people persevered, I believe that we are very close to achieving, finally, freedom for our country and peace for the region.”

She added, “Even though we face the most brutal violence, our society has resisted and insisted on struggling through civic means and peaceful means. I believe that the world will now understand how urgent it is to finally, you know, succeed because of the implications not only, I insist, for Venezuela and Latin America. This will have enormous impact for the hemisphere, the whole hemisphere, and for the world.”

Speaking about how Venezuelans might react to the news, Machado said, “I think that in the moment that we need most to stay strong, united and focused because we’re living the darkest hours. But at the same time, there’s enormous hope that has been rising in the last times. The news is probably breaking right now. It’s being broadcast from downstairs. I’m getting everything’s… Oh my God, it’s really happening. Oh my God, I can’t believe. I can’t believe this is true.”

“I am just part of a huge movement. I’m humbled, I’m grateful and I’m honoured.”

This morning Maria Corina Machado was announced as this year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Directly after the news was broken, she describes how honoured she felt to be awarded the peace prize, and… pic.twitter.com/IaY51ATZQA

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 10, 2025

Machado, who has been living in hiding due to threats to her life, was asked if she would be able to travel to Norway for the formal ceremony in Oslo on December 10.
She replied, “Oh well, I trust the Venezuelan people and I trust our allies, and I definitely believe we are in the final stage of a very long, painful struggle for freedom. And certainly it would be the highest honour to represent my country and meet you personally.”
Machado said the award belongs to all Venezuelans. “I want to insist that I accept this as a recognition to our people, to the millions of Venezuelans that are, you know, anonymous and that they’re risking everything they have for freedom, justice and peace. And I’m sure, absolutely convinced, that we will achieve it. Thank you very much,” she said.
Interestingly, Maria Corina Machado praised US President Donald Trump for his strong support of Venezuela’s opposition, calling him a key ally in their fight for freedom and democracy.

This recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is a boost to conclude our task: to conquer Freedom.

We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic…

— María Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA) October 10, 2025

“This recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is a boost to conclude our task: to conquer Freedom. We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve Freedom and democracy. I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!” Machado said on X.

In the weeks following up to the Nobel Peace Prize announcement, there was speculation about the candidacy of US President Donald Trump. He had publicly invoked the idea of the Peace Prize stating numerous times that he deserved the Nobel for stopping “eight wars” in eight months.

Incidentally a couple of days ago, Trump had announced a ceasefire and hostage deal to end the war in Gaza.

White House spokesperson Steven Cheung took to his X social media platform to post “President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives. He has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will.”

Cheung added, “The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace.”

Trump had on Thursday (local US time) said that not winning the award would be an “insult”.

When asked about his chances, he said, “They’ll have to do what they do. Whatever they do is fine. I know this, I didn’t do it for that. I did it because I saved a lot of lives.”

An Al Jazeera report said that when asked by reporters about Trump’s very public desire to win the peace prize, the Nobel Committee’s chairman, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, told reporters that the committee bases its decision strictly according to “the work and the will of Alfred Nobel”.

“We receive thousands and thousands of letters every year of people wanting to say, what for them leads to peace. This committee sits in a room filled with the portraits of all laureates, and that room is filled with both courage and integrity,” Frydnes was cited as saying. “So, we base our decision only on the work and the will of Alfred Nobel.” he said.

In recent years, the prize has recognized women leaders confronting authoritarian regimes with courage and conviction.

In 2023, Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi was bestowed the honour for her advocacy on behalf of women’s rights and her resistance to theocratic rule. In 1991 Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar won for her nonviolent struggle for democracy.

Tawakkol Karman of Yemen, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee of Liberia were the joint recipients of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for their non-violent struggle for women’s safety and full participation in peace-building work.

Bertha von Suttner the first woman to win the Peace Prize in 1905. Other women recipients of the prize include Jane Addams (1931) and Emily Greene Balch (1946), Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan (1976), Mother Teresa (1979), Alva Myrdal (1982) Rigoberta Menchu (1992) Jody Williams (1997), Shirin Ebadi (2003), Wangari Muta Maathai (2004), Malala Yousafzai(2014), Nadia Murad(2018), Maria Ressa (2021), Narges Mohammadi (2023). (ANI)