Maria Corina Machado of Venezuela wins Nobel Peace Prize

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded Venezuela's opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, this year's Nobel Peace Prize for unifying political factions and citizens and standing up to dictatorship, committee chair Jorgen Watne Frydnes told DW.

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has hailed Maria Corina Machado's Nobel Peace Prize victory as a "tribute to all those working to preserve democracy, freedom and political rights around the world."

In a post on X, Guterres said the award is a "stirring reminder of the resilience and power of the democratic spirit."

In a separate statement, the UN chief said Machado was a "champion of democracy."

Maria Corina Machado has dedicated her Nobel Peace Prize to "the suffering people" of her home country, Venezuela, and to US President Donald Trump.

"This recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is a boost to conclude our task: to conquer Freedom," the Venezuelan opposition leader said in a post on X.

Machado said the opposition in Venezuela — where Nicolas Maduro has ruled since taking over from his mentor, leftist leader Hugo Chavez in 2013 —  is "on the threshold of victory."

"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 principle allies to achieve freedom and democracy," Machado added.

She concluded her post with: "I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!"

What is the US' role in Venezuela?

Ties between the US and Venezuela, which have been strained for years, have soured further in recent months. 

Trump has accused Maduro of leading a drug cartel and recently deployed US Navy warships to the Caribbean. The US has carried out multiple strikes on what it says are drug smuggling boats near Venezuela.

Caracas, meanwhile, has accused Washington of seeking "regime change" in the oil-rich South American nation.

How Trump, who made no secret of his ambition to be nominated for the prize, has received Machado's dedication is unclear. 

Although the White House's official X account shared Machado's post, communications director Steven Cheung had earlier slammed the Nobel Committee for not nominating Trump, saying their choice "proved they place politics over peace."

It is not clear whether Maria Corina Machado will be able to attend the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony in Oslo on December 10.

The Venezuelan opposition leader has been living in hiding, and she has not been seen in public since January, when she was reportedly detained briefly.

If she does not attend, she will join the list of Nobel Peace Prize laureates who have been prevented from doing so during the award's 124-year history.

This list includes Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov in 1975, Poland's Lech Walesa in 1983, and Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi in 1991.

Machado is the first Venezuelan and the sixth Latin American to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Maria Corina Machado said she was confident that the opposition would succeed in securing a peaceful transition to democracy in her home country of  Venezuela.

"We're not there yet. We're working very hard to achieve it, but I'm sure that we will prevail," she told Kristian Berg Harpviken, the director of the Nobel Institute and secretary of the Nobel Committee, when he called to inform her that she had won the 2025 Peace Prize.

"This is certainly the biggest recognition to our people that certainly deserve it," she said, adding: "I am just, you know, one person. I certainly do not deserve this."

The White House accused the Nobel Peace Prize committee of prioritizing politics over peace by awarding the prize to a Venezuelan opposition leader instead of US President Donald Trump.

"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," White House spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a post on X.

"The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace," he added.

Earlier this year, Trump repeatedly claimed that he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for resolving conflicts, including those between Pakistan and India, as well as between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The German government has congratulated Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on winning this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

According to government spokesperson Steffen Meyer in Berlin, with this award, the Nobel Committee is honoring "her courageous and long-standing commitment to democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights in Venezuela, as well as her contribution to strengthening Venezuelan civil society."

Meyer added that the award represents support for "all those who peacefully campaign for political freedom, justice, and human rights protection in Venezuela, Latin America, and around the world."

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also personally congratulated Machado on his X account, saying that "democracy thrives on the courage of individuals."

He added that Machado "has fought tirelessly for years for freedom and the rule of law in Venezuela — values that we uphold worldwide."

Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul praised Machado as a "voice for freedom worldwide." 

On X, he praised the opposition leader, writing, "The courage, strength, and steadfastness with which you keep the hope for democracy alive in Venezuela are admirable."

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen celebrated Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado's Nobel Peace Prize win.

In a post on X, she stressed that the prize not only honored Machado's courage but also the courage of every voice "that refuses to be silenced."

"In Venezuela and across the world. It sends a powerful message. The spirit of freedom cannot be jailed. The thirst for democracy always prevails. Dear Maria, the fight continues," von der Leyen wrote.

Meanwhile, European Council President Antonio Costa called the prize a testament to Machado's "tireless work for justice."

"For your steadfast commitment to democracy, human rights, and your fight for freedom in Venezuela," he added on X.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said she is proud of Machado for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.

"Your tireless struggle for freedom and democracy in Venezuela has touched hearts and inspired millions across the globe," she wrote on X.

Edmundo Gonzalez, Maria Corina Machado's ally who lives in exile in Spain, posted a video of himself speaking on the phone with Machado.

"I am in shock," she said, adding, "I cannot believe it."

In a post on X, Gonzalez celebrated Machado's Nobel Peace Prize win, calling it "very well-deserved recognition for the long fight of a woman and a whole people for our freedom and democracy."

Maria Corina Machado, this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner, is a 58-year-old Venezuelan opposition activist and industrial engineer who lives in hiding.

In 1992, she founded the Atenea Foundation to benefit street children in Caracas. Ten years later, she co-founded Sumate, an organization that promotes free and fair elections and conducts training and election monitoring.

In 2010, Machado won a record number of votes and was elected to the National Assembly. The regime expelled her from office in 2014.

She leads the Vente Venezuela opposition party and, in 2017, helped found the Soy Venezuela alliance, uniting pro-democracy forces across political divides in the country.

In 2023, Machado announced her candidacy for president in the 2024 presidential election. However, in 2024, Venezuela's courts blocked her from running for president and challenging President Nicolas Maduro, who has been in power since 2013.

Crackdown on opposition in Venezuela

Edmundo Gonzalez, who had never run for office before, took her place. Widespread repression, including disqualifications, arrests, and human rights violations, preceded the election.

The crackdown on dissent only increased after the National Electoral Council, stacked with Maduro loyalists, declared Maduro the winner despite credible evidence to the contrary.

The election results announced by the council sparked mass protests across the country, to which the government responded with force, resulting in more than 20 deaths. 

Machado went into hiding and has not been seen in public since January. A Venezuelan court issued an arrest warrant for Gonzalez, who moved to Spain and was granted asylum.

Last year, Machado and Gonzalez received the Sakharov Prize, the European Union's highest human rights honor.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that Maria Corina Machado, a Venezuelan opposition politician, is the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.

Machado was awarded "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 stated.

The chair of the committee, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, called Machado a "champion of peace" working to loosen the Venezuelan government's "rigid hold on power."

"In the past year, Miss Machado has been forced to live in hiding. Despite serious threats against her life, she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions," Frydnes added.

He stressed that it is crucial "to recognize the courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist" when authoritarians seize power.

The Nobel Peace Prize, worth 11 million Swedish crowns (about €1 million or $1.15 million), will be presented in Oslo on December 10, which is the anniversary of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel's death.

Last year, the Japanese peace organization Nihon Hidankyo received the award for promoting a world free of nuclear weapons.

Nihon Hidankyo is a group of survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.

Since August 1956, the organization has campaigned for greater healthcare provisions for survivors of the attacks, known as "hibakusha" (bomb-affected people), as well as a blanket ban on the development and use of nuclear weapons.

Traditionally, the public does not know the identities of Nobel Prize nominees.

However, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that he deserves the award for resolving conflicts ranging from those between Pakistan and India to those between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

On Thursday, the AFP news agency asked Trump what he thought his chances were of winning the Nobel Peace Prize. He replied: "I don't know what they're going to do, really. But I know this, that nobody in history has solved eight wars in a period of nine months.

"And I've stopped eight wars. That's never happened before," he claimed, adding that Gaza was "the biggest of them all."

Trump's proposal to end the two-year war in Gaza provided the framework for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, drawing more attention to his bid for the prize.

The committees that award the Nobel prizes do not announce the nominations, and the Nobel statutes ban the judges from discussing their deliberations for 50 years.

However, those doing the nominating may choose to make their recommendations public.

People cannot nominate themselves, though they can be nominated multiple times by others, including members of each prize's panel.

The Nobel Peace Prize committee is the only one that regularly recognizes achievements from the previous year.

According to the AFP news agency, the five members of the committee held their final meeting on Monday, during which they finalized the statement explaining their selection, which is typically made several days before the final meeting.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee is due to announce the winner of the 2025 Peace Prize at 11 a.m. local time (0900 GMT) in Oslo.

This year, 338 candidates are in the running for the Peace Prize. This includes 244 individuals and 94 organizations. The total number is 52 more than last year.

The Nobel awards will be formally presented to the winners at a ceremony on December 10, the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish industrialist who founded the prize.

Unlike all the other Nobel Prizes, which are traditionally awarded in Stockholm, the Peace Prize is presented in Oslo.

Each prize carries a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor, which is equivalent to €1 million or $1.15 million.

This week, laureates have already been named in medicine, physics, chemistry, and literature. The Nobel week will conclude on Monday with the announcement of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.