A Venezuelan opposition leader was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her fight against the authoritarian regime led by Nicolas Maduro.
María Corina Machado is a 58-year-old industrial engineer who has been in hiding since 2024, when Maduro’s allies declared his re-election victory despite cries that the contest had been rigged.
‘I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!’
After receiving the award, Machado surprised many by dedicating it to President Donald Trump for his efforts in opposing the Venezuelan government.
“This recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is a boost to conclude our task: to conquer Freedom,” Machado said in a message on social media.
“We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve Freedom and democracy,” she added.
“I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!” Machado concluded.
Machado is married to a constitutional lawyer and is a mother to three children, but the regime has accused her of being a fascist and terrorist for opposing their communist schemes.
“She is receiving the Nobel Peace Prize 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,” said Joergen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
Photo by Jesus Vargas/Getty Images
Trump has been campaigning for the Nobel Peace Prize on the basis that he has negotiated many state conflicts in his second term.
“They will never give me a Nobel Peace Prize. It’s too bad. I deserve it, but they will never give it to me,” the president lamented in February while meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Others have argued that the value of the prize was significantly diminished when it was awarded to then-President Barack Obama for no discernible reason.
Apart from Obama, three other U.S. presidents have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
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