Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has been named the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize “for her tireless work in promoting the democratic rights of the Venezuelan people and for her struggle to achieve a fair and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy,” announced the Norwegian Nobel Committee, based in Oslo, on Friday.
LEA TAMBIÉN
The organization also stated: “María Corina Machado, the recipient of this year’s Peace Prize, is one of the most extraordinary examples of civil courage in Latin America in recent times.”
The laureate has been a key and unifying figure within a political opposition that was once deeply divided—an opposition that found common ground in the demand for free elections and representative government, it added.
Democracy is a precondition for lasting peace. However, we live in a world where democracy is in retreat, where more and more authoritarian regimes are challenging norms and resorting to violence.
Maria Corina Machado – awarded the 2025 #NobelPeacePrize – has spent years working… pic.twitter.com/URtYv9uBfV
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 10, 2025
Machado remains in hiding in Venezuela due to persecution by Nicolás Maduro’s regime following the presidential elections held on July 28, 2024, in which opposition candidate Edmundo González emerged victorious but is now living in exile.
LEA TAMBIÉN
The opposition leader has repeatedly emphasized the need to “restore” democracy in the neighboring country and for years has denounced human rights violations committed by the Chavista movement as well as government corruption.
On several occasions, senior Venezuelan officials, including Nicolás Maduro himself, have issued public threats against her. Machado has previously received other honors, such as the Sakharov Prize in 2024, which was accepted on her behalf by González and her daughter.
Venezuela continues to face a political crisis as the international community questions the results of the July 28, 2024, elections, in which Maduro declared himself the winner, though he has yet to provide any evidence of his victory.
The Venezuelan opposition leader has insisted that democracy must be restored in her country.
Foto:Premio nobel
LEA TAMBIÉN
The World Reacts to the New Nobel Peace Laureate
Following the historic announcement by the Norwegian Committee awarding the prize to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, various political figures responded with enthusiasm.
Among them was Edmundo González — who has shared with Machado the fight for the restoration of democracy in Venezuela — and who celebrated the news with a message filled with emotion and national pride.
Edmundo González posted a heartfelt message on his X account, saying: “Our beloved María Corina Machado, awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize! A well-deserved recognition of the long struggle of a woman and of an entire people for our freedom and democracy. The first Nobel laureate from Venezuela! Congratulations, Venezuela will be free!”
¡Nuestra querida Maria Corina Machado, galardonada con el Premio Nobel de la Paz 2025! Merecidísimo reconocimiento a la larga lucha de una mujer y de todo un pueblo por nuestra libertad y democracia. ¡La primer Nobel de Venezuela! ¡Enhorabuena @mariacorinaya, Venezuela será… pic.twitter.com/jpmrUEujtL
— Edmundo González (@EdmundoGU) October 10, 2025
LEA TAMBIÉN
The Second Nobel Prize for a Venezuelan
To date, there has only been one Venezuelan citizen awarded a Nobel Prize: immunologist Baruj Benacerraf, who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1980, along with French immunologist Jean Dausset and American immunologist George Davis Snell.
Redacción EL TIEMPO
Más noticias en EL TIEMPO
