Maria Corina Machado says her Nobel Peace Prize will have “enormous impact for the world.” | Photo courtesy of the Norwegian Nobel Institute
What you probably already know: Venezuelan political activist Maria Corina Machado has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee recognized 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.” Machado, 58, has been forced to live in hiding the past year because of serious threats against her life. She has been a fierce advocate for freedom in a country that has lived under a harsh authoritarian regime since Hugo Chávez’s election in 1998.
Why it matters: Machado, a political conservative and longtime activist, has been a vociferous opponent of first Chávez and now current President Nicolás Maduro, who has held office since 2013. Machado, a leader of opposition party Vente Venezuela, was previously awarded the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize and the Sakharov Prize, both in 2024. She was a presidential candidate in 2024 but the regime blocked her candidacy. She then supported the candidate of a different party and helped mobilize hundreds of thousands of volunteers to ensure free and fair elections. She went into hiding shortly after the disputed election after the regime declared victory.
What it means: The Wall Street Journal calls Machado “an unusual choice,” noting that she’s conservative, cites Margaret Thatcher as a role model and has been close to Republican presidents dating back to George W. Bush, including the Trump administration, “often advocating for Washington to confront the Venezuelan government more forcefully.” Interestingly, the Trump administration criticized the choice, presumably because President Trump himself wanted the honor because of his efforts to broker peace between Israel and Hamas. The New York Times notes that Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio, however, has long been a fervent supporter of Machado.
What happens now? Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize brings international attention to the struggle for democracy and human rights in Venezuela, a country noted for widespread poverty and human rights abuses. “It has been a very long journey at a very high cost for Venezuelan society,” Machado told Robyn E. Hardy, assistant research manager at the Norwegian Nobel Institute, after learning of her award. “I believe that the world will now understand how urgent it is to finally succeed because of the implications. This will have enormous impact for the hemisphere and for the world. There’s enormous hope.”
