Venezuelan Leader Maria Machado Wins 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, Crashing Trump’s Hopes

Putting an end to US President Donald Trump’s hopes of winning this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday awarded the 2025 peace prize to Maria Corina Machado, a leader of the democracy movement in Venezuela

Currently Machado is one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America, the committee said. "Machado has been a key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided – an opposition that found common ground in the demand for free elections and representative government," it stated.

She received the Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless work in promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her continuous struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.

Prior to the announcement of the winner, there were speculations regarding US President Donald Trump winning the peace award. Since the time Trump assumed office, he has consistently stated that he has stopped seven conflicts since taking office in January this year and has also been trying to international support for his Nobel Peace Prize bid. In his first address since his return to the Oval Office, Trump said that he had ended seven wars in seven months, including conflict between Indian and Pakistan and thereby positioned himself for a Nobel Prize for the same. 

Who is Maria Machado?

Since the last few decades, Machado has defied the repressive regime of Nicolás Maduro, while enduring threats, arrests, and political persecution. Despite being under a situation of constant risk, she has lived in Venezuela while inspiring millions through her insistence on peaceful resistance and free elections.

According to the Nobel Committee, she is a unifying force in a once-fractured opposition and someone whose leadership helped mobilise volunteers across political divides. During the disputed 2024 elections of Venezuela, when the regime barred her candidacy, Machado supported opposition representative Edmundo González Urrutia. She backed and supported citizen-led efforts to monitor polling stations, document tallies and expose electoral fraud, even as the government sought to suppress dissent.

In an official statement, the Nobel Committee said, “Maria Corina Machado has shown that the tools of democracy are also the tools of peace. She embodies the hope of a different future, one where the fundamental rights of citizens are protected, and their voices are heard.”