OSLO, Norway — The Norwegian Nobel Committee on Thursday awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado for her efforts to promote democratic rights and advocate for a peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy in her country.
Ms. Machado, a leading figure in Venezuela’s pro-democracy movement, has been recognized for uniting a once-divided opposition and championing free elections, judicial independence, and human rights. The committee described her as “one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times.”
Venezuela has endured a dramatic decline from a relatively democratic nation to a state marked by authoritarian rule, widespread poverty, and a humanitarian crisis. Nearly 8 million Venezuelans have fled the country amid election rigging, legal prosecution, and imprisonment of opposition figures.
As a founder of Súmate, an organization promoting democratic development, Ms. Machado has spent more than two decades advocating for free and fair elections. Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, she was initially blocked from running by the regime, later supporting another opposition candidate. Volunteers across the country mobilized as election observers to ensure transparency, despite facing risks of harassment and detention.
“The efforts of the collective opposition, both before and during the election, were innovative and brave, peaceful and democratic,” the Nobel Committee said in its citation. “Despite serious threats against her life, Ms. Machado has remained in the country, inspiring millions of people.”
The committee highlighted that her work embodies the principles of Alfred Nobel’s will, emphasizing the promotion of peace through democracy. “Maria Corina Machado has shown that the tools of democracy are also the tools of peace,” the committee said.
Ms. Machado’s recognition comes at a time when global democracy is under pressure. The Norwegian Nobel Committee noted that authoritarian regimes worldwide are increasingly abusing the rule of law, silencing media, and suppressing political opposition.
The Nobel Peace Prize will be formally presented in Oslo later this year, marking a rare acknowledgment of democratic activism in a nation facing severe political repression.
