Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has won this year's Nobel Peace Prize for her "tireless work promoting democratic rights".
"María Corina Machado is one of the most extraordinary examples of civic courage in Latin America in recent times," said Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, during the announcement in Oslo.
A fierce critic of President Nicolás Maduro’s regime, Machado has been living in hiding in Venezuela since Maduro's return to power in July 2024.
Machado "has been a central figure in bringing unity to an opposition that was once deeply divided, an opposition now united around the demand for free elections and representative government," Frydnes said.
He added that she had managed to achieve this unity at a time when "Venezuela has shifted from being a relatively democratic and prosperous country to a brutal and authoritarian state plagued by humanitarian and economic crisis."
Machado's prominence surged during the opposition primaries in October 2023, when she secured more than 90% of the vote in a show of strength involving three million participants. Selected from 338 nominees, she has since been nicknamed La Libertadora ( The Liberator) in reference to independence hero Simón Bolívar.
Over the past year, Machado has been forced to live underground. "Despite serious threats to her life, she chose to remain in her country, a decision that has inspired millions," the Nobel Committee said.
The award notably bypasses U.S. President Donald Trump, who had openly expressed his desire to win the prize this year.
Since returning to the White House for a second term in January, Trump has repeatedly claimed he "deserves" the Nobel for his role in resolving global conflicts, a claim widely dismissed by observers.
