Daijiworld Media Network – Oslo

Oslo, Oct 10: Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her relentless efforts to promote democracy and resist dictatorship in her country.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee hailed Machado as a “key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided”, recognising her courage in standing up to the “brutal” Venezuelan state.

“In the past year, Machado has been forced to live in hiding. Despite serious threats against her life, she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions,” said Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Nobel Committee. “When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognise courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist.”

Machado, a former presidential candidate, was disqualified by the government from contesting against President Nicolas Maduro in the recent elections. Her ally, Edmundo Gonzalez, stepped in as a replacement, but the polls were marred by repression, arrests, and disqualifications.

Following the controversial announcement of Maduro’s victory by the country’s National Electoral Council, widespread protests erupted across Venezuela, leaving more than 20 people dead. The violent crackdown led to a diplomatic fallout, with several countries, including Argentina, severing ties with Caracas.

Machado has been in hiding since January, while Gonzalez fled to Spain after a Venezuelan court issued an arrest warrant against him.

This year’s peace prize is the only Nobel award presented in Oslo, Norway, while the others are given in Stockholm, Sweden. Last year’s laureate was Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors advocating for a global ban on nuclear weapons.